


Adventures of Magical Girl Sachi

by Becky_Aitwo



Series: Magical Girl Sachi [1]
Category: Tokyo Demons Series - Lianne Sentar
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 09:02:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4131831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Becky_Aitwo/pseuds/Becky_Aitwo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally published in 2012 on the Tokyo Demons website.<br/>This is a fanfic work where one of the major characters become a magical girl to defeat monsters.</p><p>Please be aware that it uses elements (spoilers) from the original.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "Who's that girl?" Magical Girl Sachi appears!

Dedicated to all the Tokyo Demons staff, but especially to Lianne Sentar and Rebecca Scoble – who not only liked my random stories and drawings, but encouraged me to write more lol.

I also want to thank Phil McCauley – who begged for the Magical Girl Sachi to be drawn, so I had to give it a go! – If not for him the idea for the story would probably not exist either.

BTW – I do not own the characters; I merely borrow them and give them back before the owner misses them. 

Episode 1: “Who’s that girl?” Magical Girl Sachi appears!

*There is enough in the world for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.* - Frank Buchman

 

“Incoming from the left!”

Sachi ducked and rolled to the left as fingers so large that it made his head seemed the size of a grape took a swipe at the air where his head had just been. His body went across the grey-blue carpet, under the sweep of an equally large arm and his gloved hands checked his roll automatically. His body ended up in a position similar of those to runners at running blocks.

He felt the blow coming and jumped, twisting his body as he did so and causing the pink satin ribbons to twirl in his wake. The palm slammed down hard making all the shelves rattle. The floor underneath the hand creaked and Sachi was sure that the hand had made an indentation.

Sachi pressed his back against the nearest shelf, his dark eyes focused on the creature in front of him that had just tried to crush him.

Under the glare of the florescent lights and with the shelves around him, it seemed colossal and impossible to exist in the real world. Huge talons hung from fingers, they were dark green, but under the glare of the lights that seemed almost black. The curved nails seemed almost too heavy for the creature as the hands “rested” on the shelves – the metal creaking ominously.

The belly of the monster was pale white, while the rest of its body was mottled green and seemed to be formed of rolls of flesh. It made the creature look overweight and slow, but that impression was dead wrong. It had “scales” that looked like pure gold twinkling among the green skin, most of its neck seemed to be lost among its many folds, but still had enough so that its snake-like head could stretch upwards and look down on him.

Its fangs were black, and seemed to be dripping saliva or maybe venom. He hoped it was saliva, not that he wanted any of the stuff to get on him. Its eyes were a dark blue and glared at Sachi as if he was a mouse it could crush in its jaws.

The mere sight of it was enough to make Sachi nauseated. The shelves groaned as the enemy tried to squeeze inside, the motions knocked several food items to the ground, fortunately it was nothing too fragile, cereal boxes and other breakfast items fell to the carpet like a multi-coloured shower.

He moved a little further down the aisle, keeping his eyes on it the whole time, the way it had tried to grab him indicated it was faster than its appearance showed – then again it didn’t need to obey physical laws if it didn’t want to.

Even as he thought that, the creature literally began to “squeeze” into the aisle space to follow him. Like a cat that can use the whiskers on its face and its body to help it squeeze through impossible spaces, the creature seemed to be oozing forward, the only thing that remained unchanged was the snake head that was stretching out, its jaws seemed to be smile as if it couldn’t wait to bite him.

The brutish arms and talons were tasked at tearing away at the shelves ahead that was slowing it down.  
“What the hell are you doing Sachi?! Get your ass in gear!”

The voice came from a microphone inside his slim star decorated hair band, just behind his ear. It was designed so it couldn’t be seen and only he could hear it and reply to it in kind.

“Right!” Sachi said regaining his courage. He turned around and moved until he was at the back of the shop and ran down the next set of aisles that ran alongside the ones that monster. He could see the green through the gaps. 

The monster was making angry sounds as it could no longer see its prey and now that it was far up the shelves, it couldn’t just turn around. Its heavy bulk was acting like a stopper.

Now that he was out into wide space, he felt more confident. The monster was trapped, so long as it couldn’t do anything, all he had to do was finish it. He held his gloved white hands together so that in their centre was a “hole” and concentrated.

In an instant a samurai sword was in the space, the hilt fit easily between his hands, the blade glowed white. 

He ran towards it, his sword raised high. He could tell the creature know he was there as its struggles increased. Its back legs were just as muscular as its arms and the talons were ripping up the carpet and floor beneath it. Sachi mentally winced; the last thing he wanted was massive destruction.

He stabbed the sword directly into the creature’s back and prepared himself for what he knew was coming.

Emotion flowed out from the creature, through the power of the sword and Sachi could feel and hear it all. 

“I need more money! I have to keep up the payments on the house! My wife needs to get things repaired, the roof, the plumbing and the bills! My children need money for school! I just don’t have enough!” 

Sachi could almost see the owner of the voice sitting at his desk, agonizing over the feeling that he was trapped and the only thing that could save him was to have more.

“I can’t get another job; I’d never see my family… I can’t seem to get a promotion and I can’t just leave this job for something better…if I get a loan, the banks would just drain me demanding more and more… I need money now!”

The emotions started to change from fear and panic into something else, like the trapped animal when it is pushed to the edge can fall into a rage instead of despair.

“I just need to get some more…”

The emotion was getting more desperate more hungry, Sachi mentally had to battle against it as if fighting a strong wind that was trying to push him back. This was the most dangerous part of the fight.

If he couldn’t keep his own heart and mind free of the emotion that was washing through him and fight the emotion back, the monster would be free to attack him or worse he could be consumed by the very same emotion and….become a “monster” too.

He could see the man in his hand, taking money from his own workplace, his hands trembling from fear, shame and desperation.

“I just need it for a little while….as soon as things are better, I will return it!”

Rationalizing the theft, the man did it more and more, the hands lost their trembles as he grew more confident. Small amounts continued to vanish, most of them too thing to be noticed and others explained away by errors in paperwork or of his fellow co-workers.

“It’s not hurting anyone. A huge chain of stores like this is loaded with money! The owners probably own mansions and never even think about people like me struggling to pay the bills!”

No one saw the change that was growing inside him, the man didn’t notice it either as even the excuses vanished as well as the mental promises to “return” the money at a later date. Too much had been taken, the overall amount was too big to return without comment, without revealing what he had done and there was always something that was needed…the need never stopped.

“I need more! MORE!”

The huge serpent of Greed appeared in front of Sachi inside his own mind, a vast creature made of green and golden scales. Its body was so large, Sachi was sure it could surround him in its coils and crushed his body with ease. It was like seeing the Midgard Serpent, a creature from mythology that was meant to encircle the entire world.

 

It hissed at him, its black fangs gleamed in the strange light of the mental reality as he pushed forward against the force of emotion it generated. His pink skirt swirled around him like petals blown in the breeze, showing hints of the white lace underskirt. He gritted his teeth, moving his arms so they crossed in front of his face as if to combat the gusts, his sword acting like a secondary shield as he stepped forward.

The serpent moved, its movements so quick and silent that to Sachi it was almost instantaneous as it curled around him, using its own body. Its eyes glowed as it became to move its coils tightening them.

Sachi could feel his heart racing as the “walls” of green and gold got closer. He held his sword tightly in both hands. He had to be ready for whe-

Why are you stopping me?  
Don’t you want more?   
He needs to survive and so do you.   
You only have one life to live; don’t you want to have everything that you can to live a happy wondrous life?

The coaxing voice was in his mind and to Sachi, it made him think of silk, brushing gently through his thoughts.

Don’t you want to help your parents who work sweat, blood and tears every day for the simple things you need?  
Imagine how happy they would be if you get the things you need yourself.   
Why should others have what you want? Why not just take it from them?  
It is so easy…

Sachi shivered, everyone had thoughts of envy once in a while, everyone wished now and then for something they didn’t have. The walls of scales were getting closer.

“Of course there are things that I want…there probably always will be something in the future that I wish I had.

But if I can’t earn it myself, if I can’t earn it through hard work after seeing how my parents worked so hard to raise me – then what is the point!”

The scales stopped. The serpent was looking angry as it realised its appeals to Sachi’s own “greed” was not working as easily as it had hoped.

Sachi took that opening and continued to speak. “If your family saw you now, saw the way you were “getting” the things they need, what would they say to you? And if you continue where will it end? Will you steal from your family? Will you kill a person?”

SHUT UP! Taking what I need to make me and my family happy isn’t hurting anyone!

“What about people that work with you? You’ve blamed them for the loss of money; do you think that people are just going to brush the accusations off? You don’t think that people’s wages aren’t affected? That people could lose their jobs, jobs they need just like you!”

Sachi raised his sword; its blade was gaining a silver glow, like that of the stars.

But-

“And what about you? If you were really okay with this, you wouldn’t hide it. What would happen to your loved ones if you got caught? Do you really think they would be happy with what you are doing? Is that the example you want to set your children?

Your choices affect so many others than just your self!”

Sachi’s eyes seemed to become almost silver in the light of the sword. He slashed at the coils around him and the snake screeched in pain. The sword had cut through the snake as if it was nothing more than a dream, leaving sparks like stars flowing in its wake.

It thrashed in its pain; its squirming body was just as deadly as before, the threat of being crushed was still possible. Sachi jumped, his body soared into the air as if he had wings. He took in a shocked breath; he was still surprised every time his body did something “super-human” in battle.

“Return to the real you!!!” He yelled as he descended towards the snake head, which had its maw opened wide, in desperation it was willing to try and swallow him even as it died.

The sword cut the snake’s head completely through the centre with no resistance at all. The air whistled around him as Sachi continued to push the sword down, using the acceleration of his fall to aid him.

His white boots touched the floor gently as if he weighted no more than a feather, the sword tip pointed to the ground; it was a “normal” blade again. The remains of the giant snake were all around him, the dead eyes seemed to glare at him reproachfully.

Slowly the mental realm faded and Sachi found himself back in the store. The monster that had been in front of him was gone and in its place was an unconscious man wearing the store’s uniform. His hands holding rolled up bills of money and Sachi was glad to see the man was still breathing and seemed unharmed.

The shelves and all the damage still remained. Sachi looked up at the security cameras; they would have seen him stab a monster only for it to return to a human. The battle with the snake had all been in his mind.

“The greed demon is defeated.” Sachi said with a smile. “I’m returning to base.”

He turned and left the store, the sounds of destruction were bound to have been heard and the police were no doubt on their way (or if they weren’t, it was being arranged the moment he had said it was over), it was time to leave into the night like all heroes did!

*** 

Why did he feel that he was going to get a beating every time he was in front of him? There were two main things that Sachi thought made him nervous, one was the room, it seemed charged with its owner’s personality and the second was…well…

“You’ve got to stop day-dreaming in battle Sachi! If I hadn’t shouted at you through the microphone, that greed demon would have crushed your skull, before you got off your ass to do anything!”

“Y-yes I’m sorry Miki!” Sachi said from his seat in front of the young Byakko “leader”. He tried to smooth the magical girl dress to avoid the youth’s piercing gaze.

“Save the excuses for someone who cares Sachi.” Miki sat in a relaxed pose on a huge sofa from within his club. The room was Miki’s private one, so no one was going to burst in unexpectedly, but then it didn’t matter if they did, almost everyone in the club knew about Sachi’s “secret” and aided him (except for the genuine Byakko leader – ironically enough).

“Excuses won’t help you when you’re dead.” Miki continued his gaze as fierce as a tiger’s. “You are the only one we know that can see emotions and fight the demons that are being born from then so get your fucking act together!”

Miki’s fingers lightly brushed white fur as he moved his hand to the sofa, Miki didn’t seem to notice it and the reason for that was simple, he really didn’t. This was the second reason he was nervous.

Lying along the sofa, watching Sachi with eyes that were exact duplicates of Miki’s was a huge white tiger. Its body seemed to glow with an inner white flame, making the black stripes far more striking and blue-like mist seemed to form around its feet as if it walked among clouds…yet Sachi could still see the frightening sharp claws.

He couldn’t remember exactly when he started seeing it, but it hadn’t taken long for him to realise that no one else could see it but him. He had a theory that in some way he was seeing part of Miki’s “spirit”, some part of his core self in the form of a tiger – almost as if he had the true spirit of “Byakko”. 

He had no idea if it could hurt him and he really didn’t want to know. He could see the tiger spirit even when he wasn’t in “magical girl” uniform. 

Fingers snapped in front of his face and Sachi nearly jumped. Miki looked furious. “Get yourself home Sachi…and the next time you enter a battle, you have better be ready for it!”

*** 

He didn’t know what time he got home, but he had really wanted to stay asleep in bed when the alarm started buzzing. The breakfast conversation with his parents and the walk to school had all been on automatic.

Not for the first time, he had thought about his “night job”. He had been a “magical girl” for nearly a month. He still wasn’t able to wrap his mind around becoming one.

What had started it all was cliché, but it was true, it had all started with a single fateful encounter. He had been on his way home after singing some karaoke with friends, it had been darker than he thought and he had been hurrying home.

It was then he had encountered his first “monster”. He wouldn’t have really noticed anything strange except that when he looked at the guy, he seemed to be surrounded in a strange haze, like a heat wave.

The stranger had been walking with an odd gait as if he was sleep-walking; it was only when Sachi was close enough that the “heat wave” touched him that something bizarre happened. 

Hee hee…the night is all shadows, I can make them dance. 

Sachi had blinked and the street was suddenly full of movements, all the shadows had begun dancing when before they had just been patches of darkness, it had made his stomach lurch. 

I almost feel like I am becoming one…I feel so light! Hee Hee!

Overly thin hands had reached out to Sachi, wanting to drag him into the shadows to join the dancing. It had been terrifying and had caused him to stumble backwards in fright, out of the “heat wave”.

Once he was away from the “heat wave”, the world had gone back to normal. His heart had been racing a mile a minute and he trembled all over, while the shadows seemed normal, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the hands were still reaching for him.

It was later that he learned he had been suffering the lingering effects of paranoia.

Naturally after the first experience and hearing a strangely happy voice in his head that wasn’t his own thoughts, he wasn’t going to approach the strange shimmering area again. But the strangeness was not yet over, as Sachi watched the guy began to change in front of his eyes.

Shadows seemed to appear from everywhere, flowing from the night, making Sachi jump as they ran over his feet or body leaving traces of pure cold behind. They went over the boy and seemed to be covering him like a cocoon. Sachi couldn’t pull his eyes away.

The change was blindingly fast, shadows turned into long limbs with razor claws, the shadowy body was long and thin like a starved stick insect. The new creature’s eyes were horribly white and had no pupils. Sachi could still see the guy inside it¸ his body seemed limp even as the shadows moved as if it was controlling him.

Sachi watched the shadow giant touch a street light, only for the street light to become a shadow and disappear completely, along with the source of light. The street was plunged into semi-darkness and yet Sachi could still see it, out-lined in white and the person inside.

Nothing is real. Everything is made of shadows.

The alien voice sent a chill down his spine. It was then that a policeman had arrived.

It had all gone downhill from there.

Sachi tried not to linger on the memory of what happened next. The minute the policeman had seen the “monster”, the pistol had come out. Yelling had ensured, Sachi could remember yelling at the policeman to stop, that there was literally someone inside the creature.

He remembered the flash from the gun as it had fired at the creature’s head (which fortunately was far higher up than the physical person’s); the orange flashes of the gun fire had seemed far too bright. The first bullets had passed through the creature without harming it.

It had been the second lot of bullets aimed at the “chest” that had hit the teen inside. The creature had vanished, leaving a dying person instead. Things had gotten hazy after that.

Miki was the next person he remembered, he had been kneeling next to the shot victim, trying to keep the guy breathing. There had been no yelling or panic, Miki had worked in pure silence, only the sound of his breathing and the policeman’s calls for an ambulance had made any impression.

The guy…died whilst waiting for ambulance. His name had been Seiya Takamiya.

The policeman swore in all the reports that he hadn’t seen Seiya until after the shots were fired.

It turned out that the Seiya Takamiya had been part of Byakko; Miki had been following him after noticing that even stoned Seiya had been acting more unusual than normal. He had seen Seiya change into a monster from a distance and had heard Sachi yell that Seiya was still inside it.

If they hadn’t met that day, Sachi doubted he would even have become a “magical girl”.

*** 

School was always difficult after a night being “magical”; he had little sleep on those nights. Sometimes he felt strangely energised by it, but certainly not today.

“We are going to continue with our discussion of the English author Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales.”

Sachi had to resist groaning aloud. English was difficult enough to learn and at the same time they expected them to examine and even older version of the language that wasn’t even in their native tongue?

He could faintly feel the dismay in the room from everybody else in the room, it seems he was not the only one that found the concept of tackling Chaucer challenging. Just knowing that he wasn’t alone in his feelings made his spirits rise a little and a small smile formed, he just had to keep trying just like everyone else. 

School was a challenge for Sachi in more ways than one, although he was practically used to it by now. Emotions flowed through the school like an invisible river, gathering around groups like whirlpools in different feelings. Unlike when he was a “magical girl” he couldn’t literally hear the voices of people’s emotions. If he did, it would have been overwhelming; unless he was touching people directly skin to skin even emotions were normally a mystery.

He didn’t know whether he was just growing sensitive due using his powers in a unusual ways or whether his powers were just “evolving” somehow but lately he had been able to see “spirits” (not with everyone, normally people he just knew well and even then not all of them – for example he couldn’t see anything around his parents and he certainly didn’t see anything around himself). 

Feeling the atmosphere in a room, he had a feeling wasn’t a power (although he was sure that his experience with his own powers made it easier for him), but it was more of a skill. You could tell a lot about a room from people’s expressions, their body language and especially their eyes, add it all together and you could get the “feel” for it.

“"And now thou woldest falsly been aboute  
To love my lady, whom I love and serve  
And evere shal, til that myn herte sterve.   
Nay, certes, false Arcite, thow shalt nat so!   
I loved hir first, and tolde thee my wo."   
Can anyone tell me what this passage is about?”

The teacher looked at them all. Sachi mentally scratched his head, he had absolutely no idea.

A hand was raised.

“The passage is about someone speaking about to someone else, the person listening to the speaker about to betray the speaker by going after the same woman that he loved and informed the listener about?”

The teacher smiled. “That’s a very summary Ayase. We are now going to translate it in modern English.”

Ayase sat right next to Sachi. The moment he had first met, he had sensed something about her. Her body language was incredibly closed off; it made sense in some ways. She was new, maybe she didn’t know many people or it could be part of who she was…at least that is what he just thought. 

Humans are social creatures and one of those elements includes touch. Regardless of whether people realise it or not, people touch a lot even if it is just as simple as a brush of body contact.

The moment he touched Ayase even though it was brief, he knew she had a huge secret, something similar to him…although he doubted it was quite as strange as his own secret, but he knew what it was like to keep one hidden from everyone. He wished he could help her, even if it was just by being a friend.

English passed by with little incident, Sachi tried to write down as much as he could, but he didn’t feel like he understood that much of it. He was going to have to review it later. He prayed there were no demon sightings tonight.

He was relieved when it came to a break between classes, but that only lasted for a few minutes before he heard something that almost made him visibly sweat.

“Hey did you guys hear? There’s been another “magical girl” sighting.”

Sachi sighed, how did newspapers get news so quickly? It always felt strange listening to the comments flying around. Sometimes he felt as if everyone knew it was him, other times it felt like it was a complete stranger they were discussing.

“They said she defeated another demon last night.”

“Really?” A group of girls said as they huddled around the supplier of information.

“Demons aren’t real, not the devil and pitchfork kind anyway.” A no-nonsense voice said. Sachi turned his head curiously. It was Jo Oda; he tended to keep out of these discussions so he was surprised to hear him voice an opinion.

“Come on, they have pictures and remember that news footage. We saw one of them.”

Jo leaned back in his chair; his shirt collar was open and haphazard making him seem completely relaxed as he looked at the ceiling. “That doesn’t prove anything; they can make pretty real-looking things with computers and not once as anyone found a dead monster body at the scene. The news could even pay the “victims” to say things. For all we know it could be all faked.

And don’t you think it’s weird that despite this girl’s face being plastered everywhere that no one recognises her? She doesn’t even wear a mask.”

Sachi had to agree with the last comment. It was weird but it seemed as long as he was wearing the “uniform” no matter how closely a person saw him, even if they knew him. They couldn’t recall his face clearly afterwards, it even worked on photos and when he said his name.

But that was the power of a “magical girl”.

He allowed the conversation to wash over him as he waited for the next class to begin.

*** 

Sachi headed to a MacDonalds as soon as school was done, he came out with two meal bags. He hadn’t received any messages from Miki, but he had one other location to visit before his mind could be put at ease.

The church always looked so welcoming, but it was more the people inside that he believed gave it that feeling and the strength of belonging. He entered and the warm glow of prayer candles welcomed him in, the bright colours flickering.

He strolled down the pews and took a seat on the plush cushion near the front. He was sure that he would be out shortly. Almost as if summoned, the priest walked through the side door. “Sachi-kun, it’s so good to see you.”

Sachi returned the smile. “It’s good to see you too Daniel-san, but I must admit, I never know if you are happy to see me or the fast food I bring.”

“It’s about 50/50.” Daniel said jokingly as he took the bag from Sachi. It was kind of a long standing tradition between the pair. Sachi knew that the priest had a weakness for fast food and there was a second reason the priest had no clue about.

Just like Miki, Sachi could see a “spirit” near the priest. It was probably wouldn’t surprise anyone considering the occupation but what Sachi could see was an angel.

It wasn’t some little cupid child-like creature with rosy cheeks and fluffy wings. This angel was a warrior, a being straight from the Old Testament. It looked a lot like Daniel-san, it had pale hair and piercing blue eyes but that was as far as the similarities went.

It was wearing armour, bronze armour that looked like it had been through a beating. It was bent all out of shape and didn’t shine. Sachi could see the hilts of two swords on its back, set in a diagonal cross shape; he had never seen the blades drawn.

The most beautiful thing about the angel was the wings folded on its back, when they were open they were like a living mosaic. Sachi had always imagined that angel wings were white traditional, but after seeing the green, blues and subtle yellows. He had checked it out and discovered that in most of the oldest drawings, the wings were all sorts of colours.

It was learning things like that, that made Sachi wonder how “real” these spirits were.

While seeing an angel in itself was a very awe-inspiring, it wasn’t just that that he loved to watch.

“What are you smiling at Sachi-kun?” Daniel said with a smile forming on his lips as he bit into his burger.

“Nothing Daniel-san.” Sachi said as he watched the angel biting into a “spiritual” version of the burger the priest was with ketchup on its cheeks. 

They ate their meals and their conversation went into comfortable patterns. They had done the same thing for so long the conversation paths were well-known and each of them enjoyed the sense of familiarity as they caught up on the events in each other’s life. 

The priest never went into major details about himself (since whenever they met up he was acting in a professional capacity) but still Sachi felt that he got told more about than Daniel would tell others in the same situation.

Sachi told him about school, the current topics he was studying, what he felt was excelling in and other things that he felt he was struggling in. He also mentioned the latest “magical girl” gossip that was drifting through the school.

Daniel had known about Sachi’s power long before the “magical girl” angle had entered his life, unsure who else to speak to, the priest had been a rock and helped Sachi to come to terms with his unusual gift.

The superhero part hadn’t really been that much of a shock after that…Sachi had specifically left out that he wore a dress. There was understanding and then there was weird.

His friendship with Daniel was important, but there was one other thing he came for. 

Signs of “demons”.

He knew that priests were couldn’t release any information from confessions, past sins were between a person and God, however a priest like Daniel who reached a hand out to any troubled person had good instincts. 

Sachi always avoid asking for a specific name, he didn’t want to pry into people’s lives on just hunches, but if Daniel had a feeling that something was not right or noticed a significant change in his community, Sachi would get a street or something similar and he would go and patrol that area. 

When he was Magical Girl Sachi, his ability to sense the emotional turmoil of others was greatly enhanced and allowed him to find “demons” before they could appear and cause major harm to people and property alike.

The only downside was that Sachi’s power tended to draw out the latent demons (in a weakened form then if they had taken the unknown victims completely) so that he could fight them and this held risks – especially when he was close to the person’s home or family.

On the other hand, ones that Sachi drew out had not completely “consumed” their owner’s reason, so it was easier for him to calm them down or get the person to realise what was happening to them.

He preferred defeating a demon before it could be truly born, than to waiting for it to form and unwittingly destroy things around it.

*** 

The sky was starting to darken around the edges when he bid Daniel “goodbye”. A scrap of paper held in one hand, it looked like he was going to be patrolling tonight – he needed to go and get ready.

He rang the Byakko club and informed them he would be coming in later. He had to see his…PR when he got there, part of him dreaded the meetings almost as much as meeting a pissed-off Miki.

He went home, enjoyed a meal with his family and tried to make a small start on his homework so he wouldn’t feel guilty about his late night venturing. He managed to get a rough plan for his essays sorted that he hoped would still make sense later on in the night and headed out.

He was worried about what he was learning, he was really getting too “good” at slipping in and out of the house without them noticing (or if they did notice, they never raised it – an effect of being a “magical girl” maybe?).

He was at the Byakko club pretty quickly, the place was still lit up, and it was always active night and day. Gang members used it as a place of business, sleeping area and social hangout all in one. While some went to school during the day, others stayed at the club at crazy hours, there was a constant flow of people living by their own schedule rather than the social norms.

He headed for the side entrance, walking down the stairs to the door that was hidden from general view. It was rarely locked, for a gang that worked with theft; Sachi was surprised how relaxed they were about their own security but the mostly alert atmosphere was then alleviate any fears that he had. 

He opened the door, a mixture of scents hit his nose, there was the scent of smoke from cigarettes, the slightly medicinal scent that he assumed came from drugs and the smell of alcohol, after all the club not only catered to the Byakko club at large but also to anyone with the money to hand. Byakko wasn’t picky about the clientele as long as they kept their business to themselves and didn’t try to pry into theirs.

He walked past the bar; the lights gleamed off the polished surface of the wood and the glasses that lined the shelves. 

He recognised some of the gang members who seemed to help him now and then and gave them a small wave. They waved back half-heartedly, more concentrated on their groups of friends, plans and drinks than one guy walking by.

He headed to the back rooms, there were fewer people and there was a greater feeling of privacy. It didn’t take him long to reach the door he wanted and he entered.

“SACHI!!!!”

Long graceful arms wrapped around his neck, an ample bosom pressed against him and Sachi felt his face flush. “Hi M-Mitsuko.” 

“You are so rude keeping a lady waiting; I have places to be Sachi, parties to go to.” Mitsuko seemed to be pouting, even though Sachi knew he was being teased, seeing the shiny eyes filled with “tears” and trembling lips still made him feel guilty.

“Sorry Mitsuko.” 

Mitsuko smiled at Sachi’s meek tone, before she stepped away from him. Her movements graceful and subtle and Sachi couldn’t help wondering whether the motions were intentionally provocative or not. He was fairly sure it was intentional…most of the time. Mitsuko seemed to know the exact effect she had on guys and how to use it.

Sachi could see a ghostly form on her back, he had been along Mitsuko a lot since he started doing his patrols, so it made sense that he was starting to see something a kin to a spirit around her. It was still too faint for him to see what it was though.

“You’re going to need help with the dress, come on.” She waved him inside.

Sachi followed, the room had three full length mirrors, a desk that had several items on the top and a screen for him to change behind. A rack with his magical girl dress was next to the changing screen ready and waiting for him.

Sachi went behind the screen and started to change, first there was the tights, then the dress which to him was like trying to put on a glittery cloud of pink with ribbons attached. A pair of white boots with a star mark on the soles came next. 

Mitsuko had tried to get him to wear high heels to further encourage the “magical girl” look and maybe use the heels as a weapon in battle – what kind of monster would expect to get “stabbed” with one after all? – Sachi had quickly refused, the dress was one thing; heels were far too much and were probably a nightmare to walk in, let alone fight in.

The last item he put on was the white gloves; each one was embellished with a single yellow star on the back of each hand.

He stepped out for inspection, Mitsuko looked around him with an intense expression, like a drill sergeant (but it didn’t affect her beauty in the least). 

She pulled at certain parts of the dress, so the ruffles and lace were straightened correctly and she helped to tie the huge sash around his waist into a ribbon at the back.

She took a few steps back to survey her changes and nodded in satisfaction, before she went to the table. It had a manner of different hair bands, all the styles were slightly different but they each held the same microphone that allowed Miki to pass instructions to Sachi.

She passed him a plain pink one, which he quickly placed on his head.

“I think you are all set Sachi.” Mitsuko said with a smile. “Now remember you have to keep all the damage to a minimum. We want people to see you as a hero.”

Mitsuko was his PR, in charge of all the public relations and his image (more image than relations, no one wanted the news and police to tie Sachi to Byakko). Sachi understood that it only took one single incident to change his image from hero to vigilante. 

Byakko aided Sachi in several ways; Miki had a network of contacts and seemed capable of letting the second in command learn about any strange happenings before they became too public. They also helped him enter places he wouldn’t be capable of doing alone (without causing damage). He was a “magical girl”, not a locksmith. 

Sachi wasn’t sure what the gang got out of helping him, part of him assumed that the gang took things from places he fought (small things), so the last thing Byakko wanted was for people to see him in an unfavourable light – hence Mitsuko.

“Have you thought of a name for your magical attack yet?” Mitsuko said innocently as she prepared to leave. She hadn’t been kidding when she said she had parties to go to.

“Not really, does it need a name?” Sachi said puzzled.

“Of course it does! Every superhero has a name for their weapon or attack. What about something like the “star cross sweep” or “star-light slash”?”

“I’ll think about it.” He said trying not to sound too committed to the idea. The idea felt silly, especially as most of the battles he had fought so far had been mainly in his own mind, saying a battle cry that no one else would hear would be weird.

*** 

The air flowed around Sachi as he moved along the streets. He jumped from one roof to the next, he felt as light as a feather and he barely made a sound as he landed on the next location. He didn’t understand why the uniform gave him a weightlessness that allowed him to almost fly from location to location but he appreciated it. It was always humbling to see the lights below him against the background of a night sky.

At the beginning he had been afraid to travel this way, he still didn’t know all the rules and limitations. Why could he practically fly through the sky during the night as long as he was wearing the dress, but had no such ability out in day time and in normal clothes (he had tried it when he thought no one was watching – merely jumping up – but his body had just been normal)?

Why could he summon a sword out of thin air? What decided that he could use these abilities but gave them a time restriction?

He used to travel by public transport, but the number of people that had gawked at him as if he was an insane person and the length of time it took had been terrible. Eventually he had taken the plunge and had leapt from place to place and he hadn’t looked back since. All he knew was that once the sun was completely in the sky, the powers faded away like dew.

Each jump could cover miles if he wanted them too, but once he was in the general area, he dropped down gently like a leaf.

The great thing about his powers when he was patrolling was that the atmospheric feelings that he could pick up during the day was even more acute at night. He could detect any powerful emotions – especially ones that had the potential to become “demonic” and follow it to the source.

The minute he reached the street, he knew something was here, something wrong, it sent chills down his spine. 

He slowly walked past each house or house of flats he could see, narrowing it down like a dog on a scent until he had the right house. The lights inside made the home looked welcoming and safe. He headed around the back, making sure not to disturb the flower beds and being careful not to make any of the gravel crunch under his boots. 

His eyes focused on each lit window, he knew that this victim would be alone; the emotion seemed to make the person withdraw away from people as it could closer to manifesting and it wasn’t always noticeable to other people.

What he was feeling came from an upper window, he jumped up to the roof, and his stomach flipped a little as it was a straight jump making him aware of how unnaturally high he was going. His heart raced as he landed, for a second it felt unreal as he made so little noise but he soon recovered and moved along the roof until he was as close to the window as he could be.

The emotion swirled around the window, if he could see literally see it; he would have described it as a fog of darkness. 

He leaned down, the window had a small sill, normally he wouldn’t have dreamed of trying to use it to get into the room – he wasn’t some kind of thief! But the aura was dangerously strong.

He was about go down on his belly and swing his body so that he could gently lower his boots until they reached the sill and see if they could take his weight, when he felt as if he was falling.

Darkness seemed complete when he opened his eyes, but it quickly seemed to take shape. The sky over his head was night; several stars twinkled in the heavens. He was standing in front of an enormous lake, with a surface so calm it looked like glass. 

White trees stood all around the lake as if outlining them, the trees were bleach-white with no leaves adorning them. The branches were naked and stretched out into the dark sky. 

Sachi knew immediately that the emotion had “grabbed” him and pulled him into its world. He stepped closer to the lake that seemed to make up the world, but being cautious as he did so, each emotion while essential the same in nature had an individual nature according to the person it was trying to consume. 

He made his hand into an empty fist and felt the comforting weight of the sword as it appeared.

He looked down at the lake and saw his reflection. He saw himself of course, but there was something strange. It slowly crept up on him; the sky colour was reflected but nothing else, no stars, no trees, just him and the lake – alone.

Alone…I am all alone.

The voice seemed to make the lake ripple even though there was no wind in this empty world. The voice was quiet and young; it swept into the heart, making it ache. Sachi trembled as he stared at the reflection, which looked sad and lost.

I’m surrounded by people…but they don’t see me…I want to talk to them, but I don’t know how.

The lake continued to ripple as each word was travelling along the lake before reaching Sachi. He tried to bolster his own spirits; he couldn’t just stand around and let the emotion pull him into its web. He looked around, but there was no other living thing around him, no sign of the voice except the ripples on the lake.

I don’t want to be lonely…stay with me.

The ripples became more violent and something flew out of the lake and encircled Sachi binding his arms to his side and began to pull him towards the lake. It was metal chain; it was heavy but surprisingly thin. It encircled his body like a tentacle; its length vanished into the once tranquil lake.

The icy water was soon around his boots, numbing his body. He tried to pull his sword up, but the chain was restricting his arm movements and he couldn’t raise it high enough to force it between the links in the chain or to try and cut the chain in two. 

The water was waist high, the icy embrace was making him numb not only in his body but also in his mind. He was finding it hard to think clearly as the ice seemed to be blocking his thought processes.

The chain was pulling at him harder, his boots dragged through the silt at the bottom of the lake, dragging the mud up and obscuring the clear water.

Come stay with me. Together we won’t be lonely.

The water was past his waist and rising up to his neck, if he didn’t do something soon he was going to drown. He had to find a way to break free; he had to confront the manifestation of this Loneliness.

He had to face it and it looks like the once place he would it was at the bottom of the lake. It was an emotion that desired company, understanding. He allowed the purpose to push away at the icy numbness and began to swim towards the lake’s centre. He couldn’t wait for the chain to drag him down, he had to take charge.

Come join me.

The voice sounded clearer, louder and happier as Sachi swan to the middle of the lake. His breath came out in small puffs of air as his body grew colder. The length of chain was now slightly behind him, allowing him to free his arms, but it wouldn’t be long before it caught up and pulled him below the surface.

Sachi took a deep breath and dived.

As the water closed over his head, he opened his eyes, he was greeted by a world of darkness, the chain continued to sink deeper and deeper into it. The water closer to the surface had a blue tine, melding into green as it travelled down growing darker until it was eventually black.

Come this way.

Sachi pushed against the water before continued to kick his legs to descend, the sword still held in one hand. As darkness enclosed him, his sword began to glow encircling him with a silver light that allowed him to follow the chain further into the depths.

He didn’t know how long he had been diving, so far he was fine with his oxygen supply, but he didn’t know how long he would remind that way. 

The sword’s glow continued to increase, so he was like a silver drop falling into ink, until eventually he saw the lake bed. The chain that was wrapped around him was only one of the many he could see littering the bed. They were huge, most of them were as thick as his arm and they all lead to a single point the absolute centre.

He swarm among the chains, each time he touched one, he saw a memory, a moment when the person had tried to speak or tried to reach out to someone only to fall back to afraid to be rejected.

I couldn’t do it. When I wanted to, when I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking…what do I say? What do I do? What if they don’t like me? What if they laugh at me?

The voice was louder now, making the water ring with it as if it was a crystal bell. Sachi could now see a person curled up in the centre of the lake. It was a girl, her hair streaming around her looked black under the light of the sword. She was naked (a symbol of her vulnerability), the glow showed glimpses of her body and Sachi went red, but kept his eyes carefully on her face. 

The chains came from her body, a metal web; it was wrapped around her limbs and body, tying her up. The chains started as normal sized, but as they stretched from her body they grew thicker and heavier, becoming weights that prevented her from leaving the lake.

Sachi’s boots met the bottom of the lake, the slack of the chain curled on the ground and he swung his sword to break the chain that held him. The pieces sank to the ground with barely a sound.

Please stay here with me. It’s safe here.

The girl’s eyes looked him hopefully, begging him to stay with her, to take away the loneliness that encircled her but she was able to leave on her own. 

He couldn’t talk underwater; all he could do was shake his head in the negative. He raised the sword and swung his sword. The girl cried out and shut her eyes, afraid, but when she opened them again she found herself surrounded by shards of chains but not one scratch on herself.

Sachi grabbed her wrist and kicked off the ground so that they were both headed towards the surface. The journey back up seemed a lot faster in some ways, but longer in others as the girl began to panic part way up and his lungs finally began to burn for oxygen.

The moment he broke the surface, he gasped and took a gulp of the sweetest air he had ever tasted. The girl broke the surface too and was now staring at him shyly as water dripped from their hair.

“…I can’t stay with you.” Sachi said and saw the hurt in the girl’s eyes. “I mean we don’t know each other. You have people that care about you.” He knew that other people lived in the house.

“They don’t know. I don’t want to tell them. They have their own problems…I even want to see someone at school and asked for guidance, but I just kept feeling worse.” 

Sachi wasn’t sure how to help her, he wanted to be her friend, but he didn’t even know if she came to his school and he couldn’t just go up to her as a complete stranger and offer friendship.

Many of the emotions he had fought were ones he could banish to normal levels, but there were some that he couldn’t defeat on his own. This was one of those, the only way the person to face their demons head on.

For now his power had alleviated the fears, destroying the chains that had paralysed her, maybe she would the inner courage to talk to someone and make a friend.

“I know it is scary, but you can’t hide from it. The only way you can defeat this is to move forward.” He racked his brain trying to think of ways to help her. “You could try talking to your classmates, join a club…” He paused, realising how weak his solutions sounded. “I know they sound silly.”

The girl shook her head. “You’re right. I have to try, if I don’t¸ I’ll just stay this way forever…thank you for freeing me.” She looked around at the barren trees. “I didn’t realise this place was so empty. Is this place me? Is it real?”

“It’s more symbolic I think.” Sachi tried to sound wise, even though he was still unsure. “You have the power to change this place.” He said as he swam to the edge of the lake (the sword had disappeared at this point – its job done). The girl followed him, but didn’t actually come out of the water (realising she was nude and all).

“I will try!” Her voice was timid, but Sachi nodded, her eyes shone with determination. He believed her.

***

Sachi came to on the roof. He was shivering, although his body was dry, he still felt as if he was drenched in water. He looked at the sky, it was probably quite late and he better get home.

He almost wanted to check on the girl….well he assumed it was a girl due to his encounter, but since the fight for all he knew it could be a guy, but they wouldn’t remember the mental conversation.

He just hoped the feelings of determination remained and they could battle the loneliness, he was sure they had people to help them, but he unfortunately had homework to get back to.

***

School was a blow to the system. The classes were blurred, but it was his own fault, he had stayed up late to finish his homework. He had only caught a few hours of sleep at most.

He was relieved when it was all over, but what surprised him was that Mitsuko was waiting for him outside the school. She waved to him, making him fight an urge to look behind him, they didn’t interact on school grounds (not for any particular reason, they just had different groups of friends).

“Miki wants to see you at the club right now.” She whispered to him with a coy smile. Sachi tried to stop his face flushing, but it was a losing battle and it would only help to support the impression that she was whispering something flirtatious into his ear.

It wasn’t like Miki to call him out like this. They both worked on the understanding that Sachi was not a member of Byakko, the information they exchanged was on the mutual desire to discover and stop the emotional demons and find what was causing it.

Was it a new demon? Was it something that had already started to cause damage and needed to be stopped? 

It was still light outside, he was couldn’t be “magical girl” until the sun set, although he could still use his normal powers. 

He headed to the cub, the air around it was different in the day, and it lacked the lively energy that kept it going at night. He entered the side door as usual and headed to Miki’s “office”.

He wasn’t surprised to see Miki was usual self, collected and calm (calm for him at any rate). Miki motioned Sachi to sit in one of the opposing seats as he finished texting on his phone. Once he was done, he set the phone down and looked at Sachi.

Sachi returned the gaze, specifically because he was trying to avoid looking at the yawning spirit tiger, seeing its huge fangs was un-nerving.

“We found the source.” It was a short sentence with no emotion tied to it. Sachi stared at him, before the implication of the words sent him, since Miki had called him specifically, it meant only one thing.

“You mean the source of the demons?” Sachi said, he knew that could be the only thing Miki meant, but he had to hear it out loud.

“Yes, what else do you think I meant?” Miki said, his tone becoming one of slight annoyance.

Sachi was stunned. He knew that Miki had a network of contacts that seemed to spread across the whole of Tokyo. He seemed to know most things before they occurred and in every case Miki had informed him of, he found the store or house unlocked.

Miki watched Sachi carefully before he continued. “It is an organisation called Core.”

 

 

***  
What are the dark goals of the mysterious organisation Core?  
How are the demons being created and for what purpose?  
How will Sachi deal with Core?

Stay tuned for next episode of the Magical Girl Sachi! (?)  
***

 

 

Preview of Episode 2 (subject to possible changes!):

Episode 2: “Fighting by the power of Starlight!” The battle with Core begins!

*To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.* - E. E. Cummings 

“Core?” Sachi said puzzled. He had never heard of them, but the expression on Miki’s face and the demons he encountered indicated they weren’t something small.

Miki nodded. “There’s not a lot publicly known about them, but everything I have found points to them in some way.” He stared at his phone; Sachi noticed that it was slightly shaking with anger. “Turns out the bastards were in charge of a drug that Seiya got his hands on, the last drugs he tried before he was killed.”

Was that the only link? Sachi thought to himself. Why would any organisation want to create monsters that hurt people and property?

“Money. Power. Because they don’t give a fuck?” Miki said as if he was reading Sachi’s thoughts. “The only thing that bloody matters now is how we deal with them.”

To be continued…?


	2. "Fighting by the power of Starlight"! The Battle with Core begins!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of Magical Girl Sachi - PLEASE be aware that it uses elements from the original (spoilers)

Episode 2: “Fighting by the power of Starlight!” The battle with Core begins!

*To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.* - E. E. Cummings 

ON THE LAST EPISODE: When last we left our hero Magical Girl Sachi he had been battling monsters born from extreme emotions by using his unique ability enhanced by a battle costume. With the help of Byakko (a gang best known for theft), they had finally learnt the cause behind it all… a company known as “Core”.

“Core?” Sachi said puzzled. He had never heard of them, but the expression on Miki’s face and the demons he encountered indicated they weren’t something small.

Miki nodded. “There’s not a lot publicly known about them, but everything I have found points to them in some way.” He stared at his phone; Sachi noticed that it was slightly shaking with anger. “Turns out the bastards were in charge of a drug that Seiya got his hands on, the last drugs he tried before he was killed.”

Was that the only link? Sachi thought to himself. Why would any organisation want to create monsters that hurt people and property?

“Money. Power. Because they don’t give a fuck?” Miki said as if he was reading Sachi’s thoughts. “The only thing that bloody matters now is how we deal with them.”

Sachi tried to picture this mysterious organisation was it one of the several buildings that outlined the more industrial parts of Tokyo, its many windows gleaming, dyed in the colours of the sun and reaching towards the skies? Were they are group of shady businessmen that hid in the shadows, watching everything that was happening and not caring as long as it gave them the profits or goal they wished? Was it a freak accident for something else or was it the intent all along?

Was everyone involved or only a select “chosen”? How did it pass to people? Seiya had taken drugs, but he knew it wasn’t something everybody did. Was it slipped into medication (normal things that people took every now and then, like aspirin)? Put into the local water supply? 

(The last thought sent chills down his spine, but since a whole bunch of monsters hadn’t appeared at once, it made sense that wasn’t how it was done.)

The word “why” rang through Sachi’s mind over and over like bells, eventually it all boiled down to “why”. What was worth so much?

A deep silence enveloped the pair as each thought over the information that had been just revealed.

“Is that the only link we have to this “Core”?” Sachi said cautiously. 

He didn’t want to disrespect Seiya, while he had not known him personally; he had been witness to his last moments, moments that had been burned into him forever. He doubted the sight would ever fade completely from his mind, but he couldn’t just use Seiya’s death against a whole company...and that raised the next question if it was a company, an organisation at that, how could they begin to fight them?

He could almost picture Miki dressed like a Man In Black agent, black sunglasses, trousers and jacket wielding a gun as he moved phantom-like through this unseen company taking them people for Seiya. While he knew that Miki would never lose his control to that point (all his cursing aside he tried to look after the gang and the individuals within it), it was all too easy to imagine, although he had never seen the teen wield a weapon.

It was frightening how easy the image came to Sachi’s mind. Despite the fact he had the abilities that were unique and he had faced monsters, he was unsure how to confront this new information.

He couldn’t just dash into a building and declare everyone in it conspirators to unleash monsters on Tokyo. 

For one, he had no proof, the very idea was laughable, while he had battled monsters AND been filmed doing so, people still doubted the things were real. In his mind, he would be probably face this organisation in costume and that would probably only add to the premise that he was insane.

In his imaginary scene, the best he could expect was people laughed at his wild accusations and the security of the organisation would throw him out of the building. In the worst case, he could be arrested, sued for slander, even called insane and end up wearing the white jacket with the extra long sleeves. He knew his imagination was stretching the limits, but then again, a lot of what he did stretched his preconceptions of how the world used to work.

Core must have a business, if Miki had been able to find information about it. It had to have a product or some kind of import or export service whether it was something “real” like computer chips or something more insubstantial (but still just as vital) like stocks. To exist and have a public face, it needed to offer something and Sachi doubted that something was “make your own monsters”. 

This meant it had employees, security, advisers, clerks, all kinds of roles that needed filling. How many of them knew about this side project? He doubted it was something the average person was aware of, especially considering the damage some “monsters” could have done if they had been allowed full rein.

How long could an average person, who would have a family or at least close friends and loved ones, be able to stay quiet, knowing they risked them getting hurt (or even becoming one)? It made more sense for a select group to know the secret, to prevent it being leaked.

That was the second problem, whether it was a group within Core or just an individual (which Sachi found hard to believe that there could be one mastermind behind it all – it was too big for one person), the rest of the company was probably ignorant of what was really going on. He would probably end up accusing people that had no idea what was going on.

Then there was the matter of finding the evidence and how they planned to stop Core. He looked at Miki, he seemed calm, but Sachi would be a fool if he actually believed it, Miki wanted someone to hurt, for hurting the gang, for hurting Byakko, for killing Seiya. 

“How do we stop Core?” Sachi asked. It was an obvious question and he expected an insult or reprimand from Miki immediately

“We find the bastard who started it all and we shut him down. Permanently.” The reply was immediate and the voice was like ice. “We destroy the source, we destroy everything connected to it, and so it can never be done again.”

The spiritual tiger looked ready to rip Sachi apart; the eyes were aglow as if Sachi was a frilly pink deer ready for eating.

“We need to learn more about Core. We need their location and then once we have that. We will go and see what it is for our selves. For now Sachi, you just need to wait, let Byakko handle this. I will tell Mitsuko to get you when we have something.”

*** 

Sachi knew that Miki’s words made sense, as the hero when it came to the surveying and research, he was no Batman and he had to lead some resemblance of a normal life. Miki had often explained that he didn’t have all of that to worry him (although he had said that with more colourful expressions). Sachi hadn’t really been convinced, everyone had there only issues and he was sure even Miki had a family, school and other things beyond Byakko. He realised that despite all the help Miki was giving him, he knew very little about him.

He tried. As the weeks passed, he tried to be attentive in class and get his homework done as soon as he could. He hung out, went to his favourite stores to check out the newest releases, he played games.

In school he had conversations with Ayase, trying to learn more about her, trying to be a friend. He could feel that she was trying to keep herself from making friends; she didn’t join any clubs, kept her answers to the bare minimum whenever she could. He didn’t see her hang out with anyone in particular. 

Sometimes he felt he was too “forceful”, he could practically see that she was considering running from him, when he felt that, he backed off a little. Slowly he sensed a change, an acceptance…not complete acceptance, but he could almost feel she was beginning to relax around him. 

He also tried to reach out to Kado. Kado was complicated. Sachi knew that if he pushed to hard, he would break the fragile connections to his friend. He had done it before once and he didn’t want to ever repeat the mistake. 

Still he couldn’t help thinking that a glass wall existed between them, it was thin, but it was there. He just continued to reach out and he hoped that Kado would understand the gesture.

Today had not been that day.

He was walking home; he hadn’t really felt like doing anything. The idea that Core was probably creating or spreading things that would influence the creation of monsters while he was sitting in school, talking to friends and being with his family is made it feel…fake. The safety and security a sham, as long as the monsters were out there, those he loved and those others loved were at risk.

He wished he could use his “superhero” abilities at any time or place. He had tried to use them; he remembered trying to summon his sword – first in the day and then the second attempt at night. Without the costume, it didn’t work. That included the super-leaps, his mother had actually come in to his room to see where he was jumping up and down (apparently he had made more racket than he thought).

As long as it wasn’t night and he wasn’t in costume….he was an ordinary guy with an unusual ability.

Once he was home, after eating and telling his parents about what he had done for the day. He had gone to his room and tried to do his homework, but he had found it hard to focus.

He was aware of time ticking by and finally gave up when he realised all he was doing was doodling on paper.

He was surprised when he heard his cell phone ring. He picked it up. “Hello?”

“Sachi! Get down to the club now!” Miki’s voice said harshly and then hung up, before Sachi could even protest.

*** 

It was getting harder for Sachi to think of reasons that could explain why he was going out at night, but he was lucky that his parents trusted him and didn’t see anything suspicious in his actions. He hoped it stayed that way until Core was stopped completely.

The club was as active as usual, so he headed to the normal meeting room. Miki was sitting and looking over a sheaf of papers. A lot of them were peppered with diagrams, Sachi tried to look at them, they looked like building plans.

“What’s going on Miki?” He could the thread of frustration in his own voice.

“We found Core. The last couple of days we have been checking it out, I think we finally have enough to actually send someone in, and by someone I mean you.”

*** 

He was cold, his dress was not the warmest thing in the world, even with the under coats and the tights and he tried not to think of those things. He stared upwards. It was a skyscraper building, not as huge as the one in his imagination and the windows were darker (not just due to the night-time – he had been told they were tinted to prevent people looking inside).

The building didn’t have anything to show who it belonged to. Miki had explained that the building was one on a leash, so it was naturally for it to not have anything permanent on it. Core was the latest “owner” on the leash with another month to go before its term was done. Miki’s research had found that Core had moved from building to building but staying in the general area. 

If they waited too long, Core would disappear like a mirage once to reappear somewhere else.

His hands tightened within his gloves, it was now or never.

“Quit staring at it and move Sachi.” Miki’s voice said from the microphone. The sound of his voice right next to his ear made Sachi jump and look around. It was as if Miki could see everything he was doing; it wasn’t the first time that Sachi thought Miki was actually near his location watching him. 

Still he couldn’t see anyone, the streets were practically empty, and most people had left for the day. There were still people of course and they stared at him (Who wouldn’t? Especially dressed the way he was.). He moved. Going through the front door was not the destination. He was heading for the back.

He was feeling nervous; the ability he was going to use was something he had only managed to perfect after Miki had explained how they were getting into the building. No he wasn’t going to leap in a single bound, nor was he going to cut his way through the wall with laser eye beams.

He looked up, the side of the building, looked as slick as ice, if this failed half-way up…he could…

“Isn’t there any safer way we can do this?” He whispered, knowing the receiver would pick it up.

“There are safer ways, but in all of them, there is a high risk of you getting caught. A good thief can slip through the front door and not be seen. You are not a thief.” Miki replied, his tone completely calm. “Besides we tested if you could do it, before you came here.”

Sachi was still doubtful; testing it on the brick wall of the club and the buildings surrounding it was different. Bricks weren’t “smooth”.

Still he had to try. 

He gulped and then he jumped. The air rushed past him as he soared up, but even his abilities had to succumb to gravity. As soon as he felt his body losing the ability to ascend, he pressed his boots against the slick glass walls. They only gripped the sides for an instant, but the second they did, he jumped again.

His heart pounded the whole time, spiking as he felt gravity grab at him, it would only take a slip for him to lose and fall like a stone. He kept his gaze upwards, it was approaching fast. It seemed like an eternity in many ways, but he was soon on the rooftop. He had climbed a whole glass wall of a building without a rope!

He rested for a second, his heart pounding so loud; he felt he might be sick if he moved too soon.

“So you made it?” Miki’s voice sounded near bored.

“I could have died!!” Sachi said, out of breath. He said as he rested on the floor.

“Yeah, but you didn’t. Heroes don’t die that easily.” Miki retorted, but Sachi could definitely detect a slight mocking on the last sentence.

“This is not a cartoon!” Sachi responded as his heart began to calm down.

“If you feel well enough to yell like that, then you are well enough to get moving.”

Sachi got up, trying not to say what he was thinking. He did feel better, the conversation with Miki had distracted him from how worn out and afraid he had felt from the climb.

He found the door that lead down from the roof into the building. It didn’t look like a fire exit door (which would send off an alarm), so he wasn’t sure what purpose it served, but it was convenient for him (if you consider it convenient to have to jump up a wall to get to it). 

He tried the handle, but it was locked. He kicked at it and the door crumbled beneath the blow, “thank you superhero “strength””, Sachi thought as he walked in. He doubted the racket would reach anyone’s ears through so many floors – all the security would be focused on the front doors at the bottom.

The stairs were numerous and it was fairly dark, this was expected since most employees should have left and those remaining would probably use an elevator rather than stairs and how many would need to go to the roof?

“So where am I going from here?” He said as he walked down the stairs, he doubted “monster making instructions” would be on anyone’s computers.

“Stick to the higher-ups, if it’s something big and secretive, it’s probably one of them.”

Sachi tried not to sigh; this was going to be tough, even if all the offices were on the higher floors. He had no idea what he was looking for, except that it would be suspicious.

He found his first door going into the main building. “I’m going onto floor 15.”

“Right, remember to watch yourself. Being a Magical Girl is going to make you hard to see on security cameras, but you’re not invisible or invincible. Don’t make me come in after you!”

Sachi nodded, even though he knew Miki couldn’t see it. He stepped onto the floor; it looked like what he imagined it would. Large rooms with huge windows that showed the view outside, it was quite spectacular.

He didn’t need to really sneak around; an office wasn’t designed to make lots of noise. He walked on the carpets, part of him wishing he had wiped his boots before entering for some reason. He was surrounded by multiple desks, he assumed they were for researchers or workers – they didn’t have separate spaces it was all on one floor. He could just imagine people walking around the desks, working together, computers blaring and keys clacking. 

He noticed a huge wooden door at the far end of the “office” area¸ they looked massive and seemed to scream “something important is behind me”. 

He went up to the door, there was a large golden engraved nameplate “Kamishita”. He tried the handles and mentally cursed as he discovered there were locked.

“The door is locked.” He said out loud.

“So?” Miki replied. 

“I’m not a thief, I don’t know how to pick locks and I really doubt an office this important is going to have a spare key just lying around. And I can’t kick the door down, the damage will prove I was here.”

“Check out the other offices. These companies will have protocols if their main chairman or president isn’t in office. There will be either a copy key to enter the office for vital documents OR there will be copy documents hidden in another important person’s office.” Miki’s voice had an edge of impatience.

Sachi had to admit that Miki had made several good points and it was his first major office. He couldn’t expect them to just open their secrets wide to him.

The overall search of floor 15 yielded little results, most drawers and lockers were shut up tight. The 14 floor was much the same, the executive office was different. It was unlocked. It was the first ray of luck, they had had all night.

The ray soon turned dark as he found some papers. Net and Gross Profits, Losses, Pie-charts and graphs. He was sure it all meant something, but he had to admit, nothing he read indicated anything about “monsters”. It was all a bunch of business jargon.

“Nothing…” He returned the papers to their previous locations.

“Any sign of a key that might match the office upstairs?”

“No.” The only ones he had found had been small keys. He had managed to match those up to the drawers outside.

He had no idea where to look next; progressing to the next floor was a logical step. Still the longer he stayed, the higher the risk, that someone might discover him. Didn’t security guards need to make rounds or something to stop people like him sneaking in?

The lack of success was disheartening; heroes always seemed to get lucky breaks in books and movies when they needed them. He took a deep breath, while he would just have to try harder! A hero had to make his own luck!

He made sure that everything was right where he left it and he headed back to the stairs, the step twisted around as they went down to the next floor, making in Sachi’s mind a twirling spiral all the way up to the roof.

It didn’t take him to long to reach floor 13. 

This is where his luck ran out. The floor was pretty much designed the same as the prior two. A multitude of desks with room enough for people to move around, like a grid, with a larger office or meetings room near the “back” (from Sachi’s point of view), probably designed that way to give a more impressive view as that side faced the streets below.

He walked up to the large office room, checking the door and finding it unlocked he went inside. It was a meeting area, dominated by a huge table surrounded by chairs. A single lone projector was in the middle of the table. There was nothing useful.  
Sachi turned and discovered he was not alone.

Someone was standing in front of the stair exit. They were wearing a long trench coat, the buttons were fastened, but the straps hung loose from the sides. The stranger was slender; with the coat so tight around their body they had an hour glass shape that made Sachi immediately believe this stranger was a woman.

There were other signs; the stranger had slender wrists hanging from the coat sleeves with thin (definitely feminine) hands that had long nails that donned a dark colour, a deep red. Her hair was dark in the dim light of the office and it hung in long thin strands around her face. 

He couldn’t make out any details about her face beyond her lips which were the same red as her nails (as far as he could tell), because she wore a huge pair of sunglasses that obscured her face and mirrored back his own reflection.

She didn’t look like any security guard or employee he had ever seen and what kind of person wore sunglasses late at night?

“Someone’s here.” Sachi whispered into his microphone. He froze in place and the woman did too, as each waited for the other to make the first move. “She doesn’t look like someone who works here.” 

He highly doubted she was on his side; she stood directly in front of his direct means of escape. It was an unspoken message “You are not leaving.”

Miki’s response was quick and sent ice down his spine. “Get out of there.” 

The innate sense of wrong only seemed to increase with Miki’s words. They lacked anger, sarcasm or boredom. They were almost empty with a hint of fear that seemed to seep into Sachi’s skin.

He couldn’t use his powers on the woman, apart from his emotional sensitivity, unless she wasn’t a human but a “monster”, even if he could…he didn’t know if he had the will to do it.

He took a step forward, he just needed to get to an elevator or the main stairs and run. The guards wouldn’t be expecting someone running from the opposite direction that they were looking at. 

Then again this person did not seem normal, what if they knew about the “monsters”, would he be losing the only chance he had to find out who was making them and why?

“You must be the magical girl.” The woman’s voice seemed normal enough, a smooth voice with a lilt that made it seem as if she found the concept amusing. Sachi wouldn’t blame her if she did, but the dress seemed to confuse people so they actually thought he was a girl. It probably disguised his voice as well or possibly confused the memory of his voice.

He licked his lips which felt very dry all of a sudden. “You’ve heard of me?” He said, trying to ignore the tremor in his voice. Verbal grandstanding, he needed time to think.

“Who hasn’t these days?” She seemed to shrug her shoulders. “But what would a hero of “justice” and fighter of “monsters” be doing in an office building? I don’t think Godzilla would fit in here. Hmmm?”

She raised a hand to her mouth as if covering a yawn or maybe a smile she didn’t want him to see.

“I got a tip that something was going to appear here. I was checking to see if it was true.” Sachi tried to think of an excuse.

“A monster that fits inside drawers or disguises itself as business papers?” The woman said casually. 

Sachi knew then, that the woman had been watching him. She knew he wasn’t here “monster-hunting”. Any excuse he had was useless, there was no reason he could create that justified a hero snooping through a company’s documents – except for the truth and he couldn’t say that.

“Get out of there Sachi!” Miki’s voice was now angry, full rage was just simmering beneath the surface.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Magical girl, you shouldn’t be here and my job is to get rid of nosy people like you.”

She moved forward, her body naturally swaying as if listening to a song only she heard. Her hand moved up to her glasses with a finality that made Sachi think of someone drawing a loaded gun.

The mirrored glass came off, revealing eyes that weren’t completely human. The irises were an electric blue that seemed to shine in the dark and the pupils were long instead of round like a cat’s.

The second shock was when she smiled; he could see long sharp teeth over her bottom lips, fangs.

“Don’t worry it will be over quick.” She murmured and Sachi knew he had to move before she did anything. He could only think that she was going to attack with her “teeth” (he did not want to think fangs). “All you have to do is die.” She said.

The minute the vampire women had said the word “die”, a strange feeling had overcome Sachi. Nothing had literally changed in front of him, but everything seemed dim, faraway and un-important. 

His thoughts were glacial, moving so slowly that it felt like an eternity between one mental sentence and the next. His limbs felt heavy, listless and it took effort to even move them an inch. He didn’t care that he couldn’t move; he didn’t care why he was where he was or why he needed to be there.

The feeling filled his mind, seeping into his skin, muscle and even into his bones with a frightening quickness with the physical weight that made him think of lead. It deadened him to what was happening around him. The normal self-aware Sachi would have been afraid of what was going on inside his own head, but even that natural reaction was killed.

The emotion that was choking him was “Knowledge of Death”. The knowledge that every person knew in the back of their mind magnified hundreds or maybe thousand-fold until it became a paralysing force.

Not only was it paralysing the mind, it was paralysing the body. It was convincing the blood not to flow, the heart not to beat.

Sachi could hear a voice in his ear, repeating a word over and over, but he barely registered it. His head was low, bowed under the weight of what he was feeling. He didn’t see the woman approaching him slowly. 

***

She knew that she could take as long as she wanted, but the foolish girl would be so deeply immersed in the emotion that she evoked with her eyes that it would take all the victim’s effort to keep their heart going.

First things, first she had to find out who the “magical girl” is. She reached out to get a closer look at “her”.

***

Sachi was pretty much in a world of his own; it was practically a prison inside his own head. He didn’t pay attention to anything. He didn’t notice the woman so close to him that her nails were practically stroking his cheeks. The fingers went beneath his chin, raising his head up to eye level.

It was then that another voice spoke. It was loud, but the words simply washed over Sachi and made no sense, but it got a reaction from the woman. She turned.

There was a flash of light, a loud bang, a smell like fireworks and the taste of copper filled the air that made Sachi think of times when he had bitten his tongue by accident.

The world slowly bled back into focus, but his mind still felt distant and unattached to everything else. Someone grabbed his arm, yanking him roughly, enough to make a small amount pain and he automatically went in the same direction as the tug.

As his legs began to move and adrenaline rushed through his body, the rest of the “dead” feeling began to evaporate. The world came back in pieces, images, sounds and colours that didn’t join together until much later.

His lungs burning.

Smears of white and grey flashing by. Feet running. A feeling of descending.

The heavy scent of copper and fireworks.

The hand pulling him specked with red. A gun. More red on the other hand.

Cool night air splashed in his face, streetlights shone like mini-suns blinding him, but he was pulled onwards, his clumsy limbs making him stumble now and then.

***

Sachi snapped “awake”. He was lying on a couch; a thin but warm blanket covered him. He was still dressed in his “uniform”. He wasn’t sure how long he was out, but he got the impression it was a long time.

He was in the Byakko club; he didn’t know how he knew that. It was as if he could feel the familiarity of the place. It was quiet, far quietly than he was use to. There was no laughter, angry words, clink of glasses and all the other little sounds that made it lively.

His mind felt fuzzy and his limbs still held a ghost of lead-like heaviness from before. He tried not to dwell on the memories of facing the vampire woman. The feeling that had overcome him scared him, if it had been an outward emotion trying “attack” him he could have fought it…but it had attacked his mind directly.

And the weird thing was the woman was human as far as he could tell (apart from the eyes and fangs). How was he supposed to fight another person without hurting them? If he attacked someone human, would that make him any better than the monsters he fought?

“It’s about time you woke up.” A voice startled him and made him jump although it was not too obvious as he was lying on the couch.

Miki was sitting in the chair across from him, the chair he normally sat in, as if they had undergone some strange role reversal. He looked exhausted, his eyes burned from lack of sleep and he had a bandage around his right hand. A mobile rested on the arm of the chair within easy reach. An uneasy image came to Sachi of a black gun held in a bloody hand. 

Had it been Miki? Had Miki used a gun?

Had Miki rescued him?

He swallowed, his throat was suddenly bone-dry. He couldn’t think how to ask what happened last night…if it was still within the same 24 hours.

“The woman had an ability like yours.” Miki said slowly. “She focused it through her eyes.”

Wasn’t there a woman that had a deadly power in her eyes in some old stories? Sachi thought briefly, before returning his attention to Miki.

“She had you hypnotised like a snake. You had to be pulled you out.” 

It felt like cold boulders were rolling around in his stomach, he didn’t want to imagine what would have happened to him if he hadn’t been rescued. The woman had a power just like the monsters, but instead of being composed of the feeling itself, she had wielded it like a weapon without being affected by the same emotion.

“What happened to her?” Sachi said carefully, part of him curious and part of him didn’t really want to know.

“She got hurt, but we didn’t have time to stick around to see what she would do. The guards would have caught up to us eventually.” Miki stood up. “I called your parents, after you got brought back, made it sound like you were studying at a friend’s.”

“Thanks.” 

“Sure.” Miki responded dismissively, before leaving the room. 

***

The woman had proven one thing; they were looking in the right direction. The next step was how to proceed from that?

Sachi had recovered once he had gotten some food and drink. The ghost of “death” lingered and seemed to attack him at odd moments, leaving him with an uncharacteristic feeling of melancholy that he had to shake off.

Both Sachi and Miki had agreed on one thing, they needed to go back to Core as soon as possible, the “vampire” may alert her bosses, but if they waited too long their security could become too strong.

Sachi informed his parents that he was staying at Miki’s again for more studying. They believed him, he was so grateful for the level of trust it showed; the last thing he had wanted to do was worry them.

He went straight to the club after school. Together they made a plan. The goal was to get inside the first office Sachi had found. Sachi was sure that the vampire guard had basically followed him and hadn’t been there to stop him snooping in the meeting room he was in. It was only when he had been looking through things that she had made her presence known.

The only downside to the plan was they had no key, but the art of stealth was no longer important. Core knew about him, kicking the door down and leaving evidence wasn’t as big a problem any more.

What worried him and everyone helping him was now Core was on alert they could have moved the information they were seeking or worse would try and “scatter” more monsters to distract Sachi from finding out the source. After all Sachi wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if he knew monsters were lose and harming innocent people when he could have stopped them.

Sachi returned to the Core building the following night after the first “strike” and used the same method to scale the building. Even though he had done it once already, it didn’t make the attempt any less terrifying.

He felt a little strange not having Miki talking in his ear. It wasn’t as if Miki oversaw every mission he went on. Sometimes Mitsuko took over, but more often then not it depended on the severity of the situation.

While it was a vital mission, the real world did not stop for everyone around him to support him. Miki still had to deal with Byakko; the gang would probably become a vast organised mess if Miki wasn’t taking care of it.

They were banking on the fact that Core as a bigger group wouldn’t be able to organise itself as a sole person. Miki had also hinted that unless the vampire guard had extreme healing powers as well as her “deadly” gaze, she would be out of commission. 

The roof door remained damaged so it was easy to slip inside again. It must be taking them longer to get someone to fix it or they might not have noticed it was damaged. He could only hope it had gone unnoticed. He still kept it in mind that it might have been left alone just so he could think it would be easy once he was inside.

He headed down to the floor, his heart pounded as he mentally cheered himself on. He saw the door looming in front of him, nothing on the floor appeared to have changed, no new security cameras or laser beams to monitor his path (although he was aware laser beams was going a little overboard).

He went to the door, his gloved hand reached for the brass handle and out of habit he tried turning it before he tried to kick it down. He was surprised when the handle turned with little resistance.

He moved the door slowly, caution was his friend. For all he knew there could be someone waiting for him to enter, ready to take him by surprise, as long as the door wasn’t completely open it was a handy shield to hide behind.

His heart seemed to squeeze his chest as he took his time slowly, but after nothing happened he decided to take a risk and look. His heart sank as he noticed the office seemed to have been stripped bare of anything important.

The only things left were the office furniture, a polished table that had a large and very comfortable looking chair behind it. He scanned the room, but it was bare, he understood now why it was so easy, they had already removed the things that mattered.

He was about to go, when he saw something on the table. A tan envelope that he had almost missed because it almost matched the colour of the table it laid on. 

He opened it and laid the contents on the table. Two items fell lightly onto the wood.

A building plan.

A photo.

He recognised the photograph immediately, it was him and Miki. It was from the first time he was in the building. His face and body was all blurred, making his features impossible to make out but the dress was recognisable by the colours.

Miki’s face was as clear as day. He looked dangerous, Sachi was being pulled by one hand and the other one bared the gun for all to see. His expression was cold as if he had shut off all his emotion in the photo. His gaze was down as if trying to avoid the camera (although it was obvious from Miki’s gaze that he didn’t know he was being photographed).

Written at the bottom of the photo was “Miki Morikawa” in capital. Sachi felt as if someone had sucker-punched him. He could feel himself trembling, they knew who Miki was. 

He looked at the building plan, but he already what it was, what it meant. It had all been left to prove one thing.

He couldn’t remember how he had gotten out of the building (except that he definitely didn’t leave the same way he had gotten in). He hazily remembered some people shouting and trying to follow him but he soon lost them, taking advantage of increased speed.

He had to get there. He had to show himself that what he feared wasn’t true.

***

It was too late, he knew that even before the nature of the sight truly hit Sachi and became real.

Fire crackled, brilliant streaks of orange, red and yellow flared in the dark sky. It would have been almost beautiful if not for what it represented. Smoke practically invisible poured from the windows, heat radiated from walls.

Lights flared as fire fighters tried to tackle the inferno before it spread. People were crowded as close as they could to the spectacle as the fighters allowed. They looked like dark puppets against the fire.

There was so much noise and activity and while they all went on around Sachi, the Byakko club was being consumed.

It was so hot; he could feel the heat even though he wasn’t even close to the crowd that encircled it. 

Had anyone been inside? He couldn’t imagine it empty and Miki had specifically stayed back to deal with Byakko business. Mitsuko often came to club even if it was just to freshen herself up between parties…all the other members, their friends who followed to see what the club was all about.

Had they been rescued? When had the fire started? It seemed so large already as if it had been burning for hours, but he knew that wasn’t the case. He couldn’t have been gone that long. Had the people inside had any warnings?

No.

This was a stronger repeat of the guard’s message. “You are not leaving.” They wouldn’t have warned anyone. Core wanted it to hurt; they wanted to show Sachi that those who helped him hadn’t been safe from harm.

The building plan had been for the Byakko club, a photo of the club would have showed Sachi that they knew where Miki went, but they had taken it to the next step. They had shown that they could get the very building plans; they could get as much details as they needed.

There was no point in hiding. Core was telling him, they would find him.

He wanted to shout Miki’s name, but he couldn’t say it. It was his fault that Miki had revealed himself, entering the building to save him and getting caught on camera. It was his fault that Byakko burned. 

He was no hero.

Sachi backed away from the throng of people that were watching the flames dance and flare. Tears filled his eyes, making the colours blur and he couldn’t stand to watch any more.

Miki! Mitsuko! Everyone!

He had failed them.

***  
With Byakko in ashes, and their loss weighting heavily on the Magical Girl Sachi ‘s heart, how will he stop Core?  
Will the guilt be too great for Sachi to recover from?  
Will he continue the fight or fall into the shadows?  
Stay tuned for final (?) episode of the Magical Girl Sachi!  
***

 

The battle is not yet over!


	3. "Heroes are made when you make a choice." The Magical Girl Decides

Episode 3: “”Heroes are made when you make a choice.” The Magical Girl decides

* You could be a hero - heroes do what's right  
You could be a hero - you might save a life  
You could be a hero- you could join the fight  
For what's right, for what's right, for what's right!* - Hero by Superchick 

ON THE LAST EPISODE: When last we left our hero Magical Girl Sachi they had tried to discover Core’s plans by sneaking into their place of business. Instead of providing answers, it led to our hero almost being defeated if not for a swift rescue.

The rescue had unforeseen consequences as Sachi returned to the building, hoping to find something before Core could marshal their defences, instead a taunting message had been left for him instead. 

Fearing the worst he returns to the Byakko club…only to discover it burning. With the fate of his allies unknown, Sachi blames himself. Will he give up the fight? Or will he continue the battle?

What kind of hero got those who helped him killed?  
What kind of hero could fight monsters but couldn’t stop something as ordinary as a fire?

He couldn’t stop the thoughts going around and around, feeding on one another. The guilt gnawed at him, even when he tried to think of something else. He didn’t realise he was shaking until he saw his hands trembling through the white gloves; he couldn’t tell if it was from shock, anger or grief.

He tried to hold on to the idea that the building could have been empty; it seemed unreal that such a violent fire could have started unnoticed and spread so fast. Someone must have raised an alarm and gotten everyone out.

Or had Core already planned for that? Had they block off the entrances and escapes? Had they just left people to die in the inferno? Or had they taken them away?

He moved on autopilot. He needed to do something. Yet he couldn’t think of anything constructive to do. He felt so useless.

Tears trickled down his face; they felt hot as they ran down his cheeks. He wiped at them irritated at the sign of weakness but it also made things more real for Sachi. He had to go back to the club, he had to see if anyone had escaped or been rescued. He had to know.

He turned around and began to walk back. He could hear footsteps getting closer as someone walked down the street from the direction he had been going in.

“Sachi?” A familiar voice said from behind him, the voice slightly confused. “What are you doing out here?”

Sachi turned; the sound of her voice was the first ray of hope since his discovery in the Core building. She stood there, dressed in a short skirt and shirt, a small purse bag swinging from her shoulder.

“Mitsuko!” Sachi nearly ran up to her, but stopped himself just barely, but once he was front of her, he couldn’t stop himself hugging her. He had been so convinced she had been killed.

“S-Sachi? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

*** 

How could they have been so easily taken?  
How could it happen so quickly?

Miki stared up at the ceiling of his cell. It didn’t look like a “cell” in the traditional sense, there was a distinct lack of rusted chains with shackles dangling from the end for the unwary, and no moss covered damp walls or dark atmosphere. The place was fairly well-lit, the walls were pale white as was the ceiling and the carpet was a deep red, but there were signs. 

There were no windows for starters; the room was basically a cube. There walls were smooth, free of any decorations or pictures one would expect. The only furniture in the room was a bed (which was bolted to the floor) and a toilet.

The fixture covering the light in the room seemed to be tightly bolted, not that he could reach up and touch it and even if he wanted to the fixture was a perfectly smooth half circle (covering the bulb completely) with nothing for him to grip. The final observation that proved to Miki that he was no “guest” here (apart from the door being locked from the outside) was there was no light switch in the room itself. He was willing to bet it was outside the door, allowing anyone apart from him to control the light overhead.

Smooth featureless walls.  
Immovable furniture (the brief amount there was).  
A locked door with no inside handle.  
No control over coming or going or whether he even had light on or off.

He sat on the bed. It was cheap and nasty; a mere mass of metal springs coated with a thin layer of sponge and then covered with an underlying sheet and a flat pillow. The cover sheet had not covered up everything and Miki could easily reach through the spongy foam and touch the springs hidden inside. It was the only “weapon” he could think of on such short notice (if he could yank them out), not that he was stupid even to try and attack anyone that just walked in. 

He had no idea where he was, how many other people were in the building or whether he was being monitored. The springs in the mattress could be connected to the metal frame of the bed (it wouldn’t surprise him considering the rest of the room), so he was going to have to think carefully before he did anything.

Just waiting and thinking were not the easiest things to do considering the circumstances. He was wearing the same clothes from the night of the fire and they stank of smoke. His skin felt tight as if he had spent too much time out in the sun and had unknowingly gotten burnt. His throat felt raw, making him cough which just made his throat feel worse, a vicious cycle. He had a pounding headache; he wasn’t sure whether to blame it on the fire or how angry he was at being trapped like a rat.   
The concern that he might have inhaled some smoke from the fire crossed his mind from time to time as he waited; what really concerned him was how easy it had been for them to be captured.

Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. He had had to deal with some reports that Suzaku had been spotted with their territory. 

What had worried him was not that the sightings, regarding only one or two members, a small group possibly trying to prove they had the balls to enter Byakko’s unspoken border was just a gang version of “chicken”. He knew that members of Byakko did the same thing, bragging about how far they could get into the Suzaku’s spots without getting caught, if they were “caught” how many members of the opposing team they had thrashed or how many Suzaku’s members it had taken for them to be thrashed (the bragger would normal show off the bruises, wounds or cut as if it was some kind of “medal”). 

It was no problem as long as they were “discouraged” from doing it again.

What had worried Miki was not only were the appearances frequent but they were “quiet”. If Suzaku was getting into a “pissing” contest with Byakko he expected there to be noise, Suzaku tagging areas, fights either small ones where members ganged up on individuals or group fights, bragging that would spread from word of mouth to Byakko members or trickling in from his network of contacts.

Instead Suzaku seemed to be trying to stay quiet. It hadn’t sat right, no matter how many ways he had turned it over in his mind. He had been trying to figure out whether they were up to something or whether it was a lure to make them seek out some “phantom” problem.

It was as he was listening to two witnesses who had seen Suzaku members that the first signs something was wrong showed. He was trying to learn everything he could to see if there was any correlation between when they were seen and where compared to the other sightings.

He heard sounds from outside the “office”. There were shouts of surprise that didn’t sound like someone spilling a drink or getting knocked over, they had a note in them that said it was something important.

He dropped the papers on the table, not caring that some of them flew off the table onto the floor. The shouts were turning into yells, he could literally taste the confusion on the air and the minute he opened the door and entered the main bar area that feeling skyrocketed.

Heat saturated the air, it was as if some had broken a radiator, he hadn’t felt it from his office, but now it seemed to pulse in the air, getting hotter and hotter. At first the immediate danger didn’t register, people were milling around, shouting and yelling and while he didn’t have Sachi’s abilities he could feel those emotions stirring like thunderclouds over the crowd.

The next thing he saw was the flames that seemed to be crawling up the sides of the building, in blinding vibrant colours. Once he noticed them, he couldn’t understand why he didn’t notice them before. He needed to gain control of the situation, someone had deliberately started the fire from outside and he had to get everyone out as fast as possible.

He raised his voice, breathing in the heat that seemed to be growing more intense. Once he got everyone quiet, he ordered them to go towards the fire exits as fast as possible. He could sense their panic was freezing even their common sense and if he wasn’t so intent on find out who had set the fire, the panic might have had time to get him too.

He went towards the nearest exit, he should have thought about why the fire starter hadn’t doused the exits too, but the member’s safety had been the forefront of his thoughts. 

He was almost at the door, when someone literally kicked the door in (which is a lot more impressive when you consider how the doors are designed to go outwards rather than inwards). The cool night air that rushed in behind the stranger was a balm for the heat but Miki’s gaze was on the “man”.

The guy was covered in a black body suit and helmet that obscured the face. The fact the guy walked in with absolute confidence made Miki believe it was flame resistant. He only had time to make that observation before more men in identical suits and helmets followed in his wake, blocking the exit and “sealing” them in.

Confusion, terror and panic seemed to ignite the air. Miki didn’t know why these feelings seemed to be rising so quickly, but he fought against them and went for the first man even as the others started to subdue the panicked Byakko members who were confused and terrified by from basically being surrounded by heat and flame on all sides but one.

Miki was no stranger to fights, dirty or otherwise. He recognised that the material would probably absorb any blows he landed. It looked similar to the material bikers wore to protect themselves on their motorcycles and the helmet ruled out striking the head…so he aimed for the one spot that was sensitive no matter how well you wrap it up.

The kick to the crotch was not as successfully as he had hoped, pain radiated up his leg as he discovered that part was very well protected, but it did throw the man off his stance (he appeared to have expected Miki to strike the chest and it appeared the helmet was compromising the man’s vision especially with the bright background of fire) and he staggered.

Miki turned to see some members fighting, but the heat and the bodysuits were overwhelming them but he could see they were trying to capture people alive. The amount of resources it implied just stank of Core.

His own hesitation was his own undoing. The first man recovered enough and grabbed Miki from behind, placing his head in an arm lock. Miki was preparing to tuck his head in and kick this foe when someone walked in.

A guy around his own age, wearing a uniform that looked too neat and tidy for someone that was walking into a building on fire and his hands were covered by dark leather gloves. He strode in with a supreme level of confidence that made Miki furious, this was Byakko! The bastard had no right to walk in as if he owned the place unless he wanted to leave with more broken bones than he came in with!

“Miki Morikawa.” The voice was calm and as smooth as glass. It was not a question, merely a statement of fact. “We have some questions for you.”

He had been forcibly removed from the club, his “escort’s” grip never relaxed enough for him to see if anyone else had been allowed to escape. All he got was an impression of bright colours from the hungry flames as they continued their assault on stone, wood, glass and metal that made up the club.

He had been blindfold, cuffed (they had been removed prior to him getting put in the room) and gagged before they had even left the neighbourhood by car. The journey had been disorientating with most of his senses gone, but he had not made it easy. The next time he was upright and able to see, he had been shoved into this room.

They hadn’t come back since. The passage of time was going to be tricky to figure out; they had searched him and removed anything they could find apart from his clothes. He was confident it was at the maximum a couple of hours since the fire to the present.

He had wondered a little how they had managed to find him, but it hadn’t taken a genius to figure it out. 

He was also confident that they were after one thing, information about the “magical girl” that was undoing all their precious monsters, maybe they had been hoping to catch Sachi what a shame, they had missed out, he thought sarcastically to himself. 

He was going to have to buy as much time as he could, to find a way to free himself and everyone else.

***

It hadn’t taken long for Mitsuko to see the reason for Sachi’s state once she had seen the flames and smoke (which was now dying down under the assault from the fire fighters), the building was a mere soot-stained wreck of it self.

Together they had stayed, silent, watching and waiting as the rest of the night time crowd dissipated. They got some looks and there were comments, some people even tried to approach Sachi regarding his “costume”, but one look at the intensity in their eyes and the curious would decide otherwise.

By the end they were no left none the wise, there was no sign of there being survivors and no sign of anyone being caught in the fire. On the one hand this gave them hope, no bodies meant that they either hadn’t been in the club or they had managed to escape. The opposite side was that they still had no clue where everyone was.

Mitsuko looked pale and drawn as if watching the burning had drawn some kind of essential spark from her. “We better go, if we hang around much longer people are going to ask questions.”

Sachi nodded. “What are you going to do?” He looked at her, he could feel her fear, her panic and how it was trying to keep it all under control by acting her confident self.

Mitsuko shrugged, brushing her hair back. “I’m going to check out a few places and then crash at a friend’s. I don’t want to end up having to talk to my dorm roommate tonight. I normally get in without waking her, but I don’t feel like I will tonight.”

“I can’t really go home right now.” He confided. “My parents think I am staying at a friend’s, can I join you as you check those places? I need to do something.”

Mitsuko looked thoughtful. “Alright, but I have friends at these places, so I need you to be good.” She smiled at Sachi’s confused expression. “Just think of the club, keep to yourself, and don’t interfere with anything you see, keep quiet, that kind of thing.”

“Right.” Sachi had to admit, Mitsuko’s words seemed causal but the colour was returning to her cheeks and her eyes were regaining some sparkle as if the idea of going to these locations was going to be a challenge.

Her new energised look kind of gave him a feeling of nervousness, but he followed without complaint.

He found himself entering small clubs and parties, each time it was like entering different worlds. 

Some were dark, hidden places with music saturating the air and strumming through the bodies of those who entered, people sat in silent groups mind their own business, sipping drinks that glinted like amber under what light was there. In those places 

Mitsuko was like a blooming flower in the desert, she drew attention and looks (mostly appreciative ones) wherever she went. Sachi found it almost scary watching how she worked. It was entirely in body language, a smile, a soft brush of her hand against someone she knew. 

It was like a hummingbird sipping at the nectars of several flowers (if you pretended the flowers were information). She moved from one group of friends to another, her questions slipped in natural, the answers she accepted with little reaction beyond that which fit the party mood and her hands also moved stealthily as well.

In other places, the music was beating and alive and the colours from the disco lights tinted them the same shades. In those places Mitsuko danced among people, the music too loud that she seemed to rely on body language alone, gestures that almost like sign language. In those clubs, she seemed at home, her feet and hands moved easily through the throngs to those she recognised. Sachi was surprised when he got a few requests to dance…from guys, apparently the lighting was worse than he thought

They even went to places that truly deserved the term “hang-outs”, vacant spots that seemed to have no other purpose but for people to hang around at various times only to disappear later on as if they never were, like ghosts.

It was growing light by the time she was done and Sachi followed her back onto the streets, the party music from the last place had still not left his ears completely.

“Did you find out anything?” He asked as they walked.

Mitsuko shook her head in the negative. “No one from Byakko has been around, not that I expected them to be partying after this.”

“Do you know where any of the member’s numbers or addresses? Maybe we can check their houses? Or try and call them?”

Mitsuko was palming her phone even as he spoke. “I have a few; I’ll try them once we’re inside.”

Mitsuko led Sachi to a set of apartments, by this point his feet were aching, his hero powers fading with the light. With an ease that showed she had been here before, she pulled out a non-descript key and entered a room.

Sachi followed, the room was incredibly basic, similar to a cheap hotel room, except there were signs that someone lived here. Empty cans and take-away boxes were next to an old microwave. There was a single bed in one corner, a table in another with a few chairs. The table was piled with books, some open but most closed.

“A friend lets me use his room now and then. He won’t mind us using it for the night.”

Sachi paused. “You’re okay with me staying with you alone?”

Mitsuko smiled. “Of course, after all you are bodyguard. You’re the hero after all; you’ll protect me, won’t you?”

The tone was mostly jovial, but Sachi could feel that under it all, a real question was being asked. “No one will get past me.” He said putting all the confidence he could into his voice.

Mitsuko took the bed, part of a wordless agreement between the two. She didn’t undress, just slipped in as she was. Sachi took a chair and moved to an opposing corner so he could watch the door. It made him feel as if he had a little control over a situation that was very weird.

Still even heroes needed sleep and despite how he was resting, he soon fell asleep in the chair. Unbeknownst to him Mitsuko was still awake, her gaze fixed on her phone as she silently pressed the “redial” button, the screen flashing “Miki” but each time she got no answer.

*** 

Miki’s eyes snapped open.

The bastards were coming. He knew it. It wasn’t anything supernatural, but a honed instinct that would tell him when someone was sneaking up behind him or when someone had noticed he had done something and he needed to make a retreat. It was the skin prickling feeling when you felt eyes watching you in the dark.

He sat up. In some ways, he welcomed the distraction, it wasn’t like he had been able to sleep with the light blazing and a bed that was (let’s face it) mainly metal. All intentional, a nice way to “soften” him up, leave him alone with nothing to distract, nothing to comfort and no one to talk to.

This was just like any fight, mental or physical and he had been in plenty of both. He waited and he was soon rewarded by the door opening. He had to admit, the opening door screamed freedom and escape that it took all his resolve to keep himself seated.

How many people would try and rush the guy on the other side? Not knowing how much muscle was waiting for them? Showing that they were afraid, losing any change of having any leverage? Probably a few, but it was foolish to act like some kind of frightened rabbit, you needed to use your wits.

Two guards, they looked the part, guys with more muscles than brains by their appearance walked in. In-between the pair was the same youth that had said they had questions for him in the middle of a fire. He looked as if he had just walked out of the business meeting (except for the gloves that seemed strangely outlandish now that he noticed them) not even a scent of smoke was around him (although it was hard for Miki to tell since his clothes still had it).

“Miki Morikawa” The full use of his name on that stranger’s lips had Miki’s teeth on edge. It was like a verbal ‘up yours’ that showed they knew who he was, but he didn’t have the same privilege. “My name is Touya Kamishita; you can consider me the spokesperson for the company.”

The word “Core” hovered unsaid, but both of them knew exactly what he meant.

Miki kept his mouth shut; his eyes flickered casually over the two guards that stood on either side of the door. They seemed relaxed, either they were confident that he wouldn’t do anything OR they were confident that this “Touya” could take care of any problem.

“I am not going to pretend you do not know why you are here nor am I going to pretend you don’t have a clue what I am talking.”

Miki’s lips went up into a faint smile that just barely tugged at his mouth. He didn’t believe this “let’s be civil” act for one second, both of them knew he was just “playing” a role, acting like a “good” guy.

“Who is the “magical girl”?” The gaze was intense as if Touya could read every thought that crossed his face. “What is your association with her?”

“How the fuck would I know?” He replied, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice. “What kind of superhero reveals who she is? Only an idiot would let someone know their secret so they can be exploited.” 

He allowed his smile to grow, a glint to form in his eyes. “Do you know what I could do if I could blackmail a superhero?” He left the question open, so that their imagination could have free rein with the idea.

He resisted the urge to go into a staring contest with the bastard; he wanted to do something to change the balance of power in the room. He may not have the power to escape the room without the guards taking him down (unless he thought of a way to disable them) but he was not letting them get any information from him.

He kept his shoulders relaxed, his hands remain in his lap, he wanted his body to scream “relaxed” but not so far in that direction that it would show as true defiance…at least not yet.

Despite his act, he couldn’t tell what Touya was thinking, his eyes were clear of any kind of emotional indication. A doll’s eyes showed more emotion than this guy.

“That is not what I asked you Miki.” Touya didn’t move as one of the guards handed him a large envelope as if they spoke telepathically to one another. Touya drew out a photo from the envelope and threw it onto Miki’s lap.

Miki didn’t need to look at it to know what it was, a shot of a security camera showing him helping Sachi (shown as a pink and white pixel blur) in the Core building.

“I want you to tell me everything you know about ‘Sachi’.” The tone was so tranquil, but even a sign of satisfaction, Miki was sure the bastard was laughing inside.

“Who?” He responded, making his own tone sound as empty and as bored as he could. 

“The woman you shot was still conscious after you attacked her. She heard everything you said to her, so don’t act as if you are ignorant.”

Miki turned his gaze to stare at one of the bland walls. “”Sachi” is her hero name. It means “joy”, perfect alias for a girl. That’s all I know about her.”

“I see.” Suddenly the temperature seemed to drop in the room and Miki couldn’t help but shiver, it felt as if a door he was unaware of was closing shut and once it was closed it would remain that way forever. “Is that all you have to say?” 

A part of Miki almost wanted to say something, but he knew that it was all a ploy to get him to talk, there was no salvation, he knew too much no matter the outcome. All he could do was stall, figure out a way to get out and get his gang out before something happened to them all.

“That’s all I can say.” He countered. “I know nothing more about the magical girl nor does anyone in Byakko.” 

Touya seemed to look regrettably as he began to slowly remove a glove from his hand, the envelope tucked under his arm. He placed the glove in his pocket. He seemed to be using the actions to emphasis that he needed to ‘think’ about what he would say next. 

“I know of your reputation Miki-san, your loyalty to the ones you consider your allies is well-known in certain ‘circles’ and is commendable.

But your defiance is a pointless gesture; you know too much, your gang members know too much for us to simply release you after this is done. You have two choices now:

You can tell us what we need to know and your fate may be one where you and your friends can come out of this alive or you can continue this stubborn display and I will give you a demonstration of what will happen to you and everyone else.”

Miki remained quiet; there was a long moment of silence, before Touya finally spoke again.

“Very well Miki, just remember, this was your decision.”

*** 

Sachi woke slowly to the sense of someone moving around. His back ached a little from how he had been sleeping. “Wakey wakey.” A teasing tone and a hand on his shoulder made him waking all the faster.

“Wha?” He looked up and was confused for a moment as he didn’t immediately recognise the room. Mitsuko was already dressed and looked as fresh as a daisy; he hadn’t known better he would have sworn she looked as rested as someone that had had a full night’s sleep.

“M-morning Mitsuko.” He said, horribly aware that while she was clean and dressed he had spent the night in a dress, slept in it and hadn’t had a chance to wash up and had no clothes to change into.

“Morning Sachi.” She was placed a breakfast bar on the table for him. He took it grateful. “Did you sleep okay?”

“Yeah.” She said, but the happy “sunshine” tone that had infected her voice was gone as the question reminded them both of the situation. “How about you?”

He smiled. “I’m good.” He was lying really; sleeping in a chair meant a lot of aches and pains when you woke up.

“Well then I guess you will be okay when I go out and do a little shopping.” Mitsuko said as she twirled the apartment keys around one manicured finger.

“You want to go out shopping?” The very idea seemed too normal, so every-day it threw him.

“Of course, you can’t go out wearing that dress when someone from Core might see you. You need something to wear and I bet your clothes were left at the club.”

“Well yes…” He said, realising he had not even thought about it. Fortunately clothes were the only thing he had left there, nothing that couldn’t be replaced. “I don’t have any money…”

Mitsuko smiled. “Don’t worry about that, you can pay me back. You can pay for my lunch at school, every day for a year.”

“A year?!” Sachi couldn’t help spluttering.

Mitsuko laughed at his panicked expression as she headed for the door. “Maybe I’ll lower the price to 6 month’s worth.” Her face lost some of the teasing quality it displayed. “I won’t be too long, but you can get washed up and clean, there’s some food in the fridge…my friend won’t mind.”

“Thanks Mitsuko.” She heard him say as she closed the door behind her.

Mitsuko soon allowed herself to be absorbed in the throng of people in the streets. The noise of everyone’s feet, the traffic, there were snippets of conversation and the brush of people against her helped her to regain her self-confidence. 

Her hands almost moved by themselves, taking from the unsuspecting people the small items that she could palm, but not enough that she feared notice.

Entering the nearest shop, she headed straight to the teen clothing section. Her strides filled with purpose and she seemed completely within her element. She scanned the items, only looking the basics. Sachi needed to be able to go home as soon as possible, lingering over clothes wasn’t going to be helpful.

She found some clothes that seemed perfect and quickly headed to a check-out. It was then that she noticed a woman was watching her. A woman in a trench coat, she seemed to have just “appeared” there, she was that still. She was wearing sunglasses indoors, the sunglasses had a reflective surface so that all Mitsuko could see was her own self reflected back.

“Mitsuko of Byakko.” The woman said in a low voice that sent chills down Mitsuko’s spine. “I have a message for it to deliver for “Sachi”.”

Mitsuko knew that her expression remained unchanged as the pair “faced” on another. The woman held out a folded note. There seemed to be one long moment where nothing moved, but then Mitsuko carefully took the piece of paper.

“What does it say?” Mitsuko said in a similar low tone.

“I do not know, I am merely the messenger, but tell your magic girl that we are not prepared to wait for an answer.” The woman finally moved and melted into the crowd outside.

Mitsuko tightened her fist around the note and went to pay for the clothes. The note was quickly placed in her purse bag to prevent it getting wrecked. She had to get this back to Sachi as soon as possible.

*** 

Sachi stood and waited. The night air was still, the stars twinkled overhead. He was in a vacant space in a nearby park; there were no trees to stop him seeing pretty much in every direction around him. 

His ribbons floated on the slightest breeze. He had washed and dried the dress while wearing the clothes Mitsuko had purchased for him. The note had been very simple, a place (this park), a time (now) and a warning sent through the vampire woman.

They both knew it was a trap, but if they didn’t respond to it, they had no other leads to follow. Core already had Byakko (presumably), now they wanted Sachi. Sachi had no idea what else to do; he had to find his friends. He owed them!

He was sure one of the choices for the location was to give him a sense of confidence, plus a wide open space was more beneficial for a group in several ways (more room to encircle and surround a single person for example), yet Sachi also knew it gave him advantages too. Space to run and space to fight, he held on to the reasoning that Core didn’t know everything he could do, he could have the element of surprise on his side.

Without Miki to act as his invisible eyes and backup…he needed to rely on his own strengths. Mitsuko had wanted to come with him naturally. She wasn’t someone Sachi could imagine hiding away, but the way Core’s “guard” (for lack of better term) had found her had made both of them realise just how vulnerable they were. 

Despite Mitsuko’s protests he told her to go to the Church, he explained that they knew what he was doing (in the superhero sense) and to ask for Priest Daniel. He didn’t know whether she would do it, in fact he was fairly confident that she would want to do something besides sitting in a church waiting for news.

Sachi couldn’t risk someone else getting hurt, he was convinced that Core would either send wave after wave of monsters after him after all he had so far faced them one at a time – he didn’t know if he could for example battle two at the same time, especially if they were influenced by completely different emotions. His sword helped him to get into the “influenced mind” and fight the root of the problem head on when the emotion was already enveloping the person and making them something “non-human”, but it left his body defenceless.

Another monster would find him an early target unaware of what was happening. It was one of the reasons that he asked someone to monitor him. A second person would be able to distract anyone or prevent anything harming him when he was in that state. 

It hadn’t always been Miki (he had always assumed Miki was watching him through a bunch of monitors and directing other members like chess pieces to help him…he had never thought that Miki would be in the “field” or “line of fire”), sometimes it had been Mitsuko on the other end or others that he hadn’t really been so close to.  
He owed them, not in a weighting of scales kind of way of give and take, but in those ways that are difficult to define and ways that he would never consider them as “debts”. 

They had offered help and friendship and protection and he was not going to turn his back on them.

The air was cold on his arms, raising multiple goose bumps. A drawback of his costume was that if left them completely bare. His hands were warm within their gloves, the ruffles and petticoat of the skirt kept most of his body warm. 

It was probably a bad sign that he was getting use to it.

Minutes ticked by, the air continued to nip at him and he waited. It was hard to keep his concentration focused, when the cold kept nagging him for attention and he had to keep looking in every direction.

He was starting to think that the note had been some kind of plot to get him in a different location as something happened elsewhere, when he heard a noise getting closer and louder.

The air that had been still was now in a wild frenzy and Sachi looked up trying to locate the source of the noise and noticed a light coming towards him fast. It took longer than he would care to admit to make out the shape of a large black helicopter. As his eyes adjusted, he saw something hanging from it, a metal crate (also black) held by a powerful chain.

It hovered over him and he realised that one of the reasons the park had been chosen was that the large area with a distinct lack of people meant that no one was around to notice the noise.

The crate was lowered until it hit the grass, Sachi eyed it warily, and he doubted anything good could come from it. He was further shocked when a ladder descended and someone climbed down. 

Someone his own age with gloves and it was the last thing he thought would come down from the ladder. Soldiers, yes, some older businessman, monsters or even the vampire woman...but this guy looked normal. The chain hit the crate with a clank and the helicopter rose higher into the sky, the roar of its blade were still audible but not enough to impede speech. This is obvious what the teen had been waiting for.

“Good evening Sachi. My name is Touya and I am a representative of Core.” The voice carried easily across the park. He stood beside the crate. “I am here to “request” you retire from being a “hero”.”

Sachi narrowed his eyes. “And why should I?” He wanted to sound brave, but he was sure there was a quiver in his voice and afterwards it just sounded stupid.

“You are hardly in a position to negotiate. We know about your alliance with Byakko. Right now, we have them and if you want to see any of them again, it would be wise to co-operate.”

Sachi was quiet, Touya stood besides the crate, he seemed to be adjust his gloves (like men will fiddle with pens when they are thinking to keep their hands busy), but his gaze was completely focused on Sachi. 

Sachi looked at Touya, his gaze shifting to the crate next to him. It was large enough to hold people but he couldn’t hear anything from it and…he couldn’t feel any emotion from Touya. It was as if Touya stood inside a void, it was a deadly “silence”.

Were his friends inside the crate? A gesture of goodwill. Or was it something else?  
How could he trust a company that was turning people into monsters? How could he say “no” and abandon everyone to Core’s clutches? No, he wouldn’t be abandoning them; he was going to rescue them even if he didn’t know. Would he be able to face them if he agreed, knowing that they knew he had sacrificed innocent people?

How could he make the choice? In the end he knew he had to…

“No. I’m not going to stop. I’m not going to stand by and let you warp people.”

“Then I am sorry it has come to this.” The words despite their content contained the same level manner that Touya seemed to radiate like an otherworldly aura. With a casual motion, the crate was unlocked; he yanked out a heavy steel pin allowing the door to swing open.

It should have creaked ominously or the door should have fallen down with a large clank that would have made Sachi feel the earth vibrate beneath his feet, something to add importance to the act. Instead it swung with an almost velvet silence apart from a thin whine as the hinge moved.

Sachi wasn’t paying much attention to the lack of noise from the crate; he was more focused on what was coming out of the crate.

He had been right to suspect a monster, but he wasn’t expecting this. For starters the first impression it gave was of size, its head was pushing at the metal crate door as if it was cardboard, and its shoulders brushed the top of a crate that was almost as high as two people standing on one another’s shoulders. 

Even in the dark, he could see white as bright as newly fallen snow in sunlight. Amidst the white hidden within the dark interior of the crate were streaks of black that rippled and seemed to shine like fresh ink. Huge paws moved onto the park grass, they made no sound, which only increased Sachi that what he was seeing was a dream or nightmare.

As it stepped out into the world, its gaze locked onto Sachi and from its mouth came a roar that even silenced the whump noise of the distant helicopter overhead. It washed over the park, silencing every insect and hidden animal around.

Sachi recognised this creature, even though it was now larger and some things had changed. It was the spirit he had seen around Miki. It was real. It couldn’t be the same one. It wasn’t possible.

“Somehow I see from your expression that you understand exactly who this creature is. This is Miki Morikawa. 

He has no memory of you; he has no memory of being a human, unlike all the monsters you have faced before there is no “link” for you to reach him.”

A thick mist seemed to be forming around Touya and the tiger spirit (Sachi couldn’t think of it as “Miki” not yet, the revelation was too huge with too many implications for him to accept it all at once). It obscured them and grew thicker with every breath as if they were being consumed by a cloud.

Denial flood through Sachi even as he summoned his sword out of pure reflex, the thin blade cut the air, but with so much around him, it did little for his vision. It couldn’t be Miki, it was too fast, and it was less than 24 hours since they had last seen each other. If monsters could be fully “formed” that fast then he would never be able to prevent them as he had been doing.

Yet if it was a lie, how could they have manufactured a monster that mimicked the spirit he had seen around Miki so completely? He had never told Miki about it, mostly because he didn’t think he would be believed. He had partially assumed (hoped) it was a mixture of his powers and his mind trying to make sense of the emotions he saw around Miki by making it into something visual.

Touya’s voice however continued to reach through the mist with little interference. “If you do nothing, you are going to be killed by the very person who saved you or are you willing to kill him to defend yourself?”

Sachi could no longer see the park around them, as Touya’s words had distracted him; the world had been turned into pure white. He could feel the tiger, he was sure by now it had moved and was probably seeking him out. His mind already saw it, circling him as a dark silhouette like a shark.

The only thing that seemed to remain in the same location was Touya’s voice.  
”We have little choice Sachi, Core wants you destroyed. I am trying to offer you a way out. Surrender and you get to live. It is too late for Miki, but I promise if you surrender I will use my influence to get the rest of Byakko released.

They can’t harm us, you have no concrete proof and unless you are willing to reveal who you are at the risk of Core learning who you are, you can’t expose us yourself and the authorities will never discover how the “monsters” are created.”

The words were devoid of malice, they were delivered in a manner so factual that he could have believed that Touya was a teacher calmly explaining a problem to a classroom.

“I know this, because I am the one who’s creating them.”

Those words, spoken without any change in tone, hit Sachi like arrows. This stranger was responsible, for all the deaths, all the people’s emotions that had been twisted, changing people, influencing them in small ways even before they began to change into “monsters”.

An angry word that may not have been spoken to a loved one, if a person had not been saturated with rage.  
An opportunity lost, because a person was suddenly too afraid to take a leap.  
A person falling for someone they had no true feelings for because their feelings of love had been faked.

Good and bad emotions were prey and Core were willing to play with people like puppets for some unknown goal and now he was confronting the very person who had made it all possible? 

The one responsible for Seiya’s death?  
The one who made it so that he met Miki and eventually became a “magical girl”?  
The one who without knowing it had changed his life?

He marched into the fog, his sword raised and separating the mist as it circled around them. His heart raced, as he walked forward, trying to be as quiet as possible and trying to stay as straight as he could (difficult when all sense of direction becomes lost).

It felt like it was taking forever to bridge the gap, so he was surprised when the fog cleared and he found himself mere steps away from Touya who was watching him as if the fog hadn’t disabled his vision at all.

Sachi didn’t notice the tiger/Miki was gone, until he felt a very huge presence behind him (literally behind him, but close enough to raise the hair on the back of his neck).

Right now he had two choices;

He could either go for Touya, with the vain hope that defeating him would somehow release Miki from the tiger form or grant him enough sentience as himself not to see Sachi as threat and capturing him would allow him to learn how monsters were made (and hopefully how to reverse it).  
The risk being that launching himself at Touya, if he wasn’t quick enough would leave him completely vulnerable to an attack by “Miki”.

OR

He could turn around and face the tiger, try to use the very powers that made him a hero to return Miki to normal. The risks were that Touya could attack him whilst he was trying to free Miki’s mind from whatever emotion was controlling him (if it was an emotion), Touya could try to escape or the attempt could fail if Touya’s words were true.

He knew what he had to do.

*This is where you as the reader can decide the end of the story:

If you believe that Sachi should attack Touya – please select the ending “Wanderer”

If you believe that Sachi should attack Miki – please select the ending “Ties That Bind” *


	4. Optional Ending - Wanderer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optional Ending Wanderer - depending on what choice you decided in the previous chapter

He charged forward, running straight at Touya. Time seemed to slow down as he saw the comprehension flare in Touya’s eyes, his body tensing as if preparing some kind of counter, like a simple side-step, a roll across the grass or maybe it was just a subconscious flinch of having someone with a sword run at you.

He heard “Miki’s” roar, like distant thunder behind him, he was sure that the tiger would go after him (either to “protect” Touya or because running equalled “prey” in the creature’s mind), but for now even if it was only for a brief moment his two-legged body could dash a lot faster than a four-legged one.

He nearly dropped his sword as he ran, despite the way it felt as it was literally tugging at his hand and trying to slow him down. He managed to reach Touya with it still in hand as he body-slammed him, knocking both of them to the ground.

The next couple of seconds were a complex blur of grass and night sky as they rolled. Sachi tried to keep his bearings and tried to keep his sword, it seemed really important to keep his sword. Touya went for his hands, trying to wrest the weapon from his grip. 

The fact they were both wearing gloves meant their grips would have been about even but Sachi lost a lot of his advantage keeping them occupied. He couldn’t let it go! He needed it!

There wasn’t a single moment when they stayed still; Sachi could only let out the occasional sound when powerful blows hit his stomach. He soon found himself, trying to breathe whilst his stomach seemed to have squeezed itself into a tight hot ball.

He was just about to take a deep gulp of air, when a kick went straight into his ribs and sent him sprawling across the ground. He coughed his throat on fire.

From his vantage point on the ground, he could see Touya walking over to him. His clothes wrinkled, smeared with the occasional grass stain, the collar askew, the gloves discarded, yet his overall appearance was of someone that had only been pushed by a brief gust of wind and left relatively untouched.

He didn’t seem to have a bruise on him. Damn it! Sachi thought, what happened to his strength, his speed, and all his powers? His ability to sense emotions had not disappeared; he could see the determination that vibrated around Touya like a knife and the anger that moved beneath the surface ready to fly like the furies.

Was it because Touya was human? Superheroes in stories seemed either incapable of harming “innocent humans” or they lost something precious when they did so. Was he holding back, because this was the first time he had fought an actual person (without them being a monster at the time)?

He tried to get up, when Touya grabbed him by his bare arm and practically pulled him up, it was the same arm that held his sword. With a squeeze, Sachi’s hand twitched and the sword fell to the grass. The strength the teen possessed seemed super-human. The white fog was returning, shrouded them, hiding the weapon from view as if dissolving it.

“It’s over.” Touya didn’t seem to be relishing his “victory”; he was acting as if it was a chore that he had had to do.

The physical contact meant Sachi could feel Touya’s feelings. Disgust that he had to hurt someone; he didn’t seem to enjoy attacking people for the sake of it. A strong belief that he couldn’t decipher something that drove him and sustained him to do what he needed and beneath it all was there a source of pain?

Behind Sachi, the tiger loomed, waiting as if Sachi was an offering, a titbit that was going to thrown and devoured.

“No, it’s not!” Sachi managed to say, despite the burning pain in his arm and the aches in the rest of body. He tried to gather all the strength he had and he kicked Touya as hard as he could. He saw shock and pain in Touya’s eyes before he was dropped to the ground.

He reached out into the fog and his fingers curled around the hilt instinctively. He felt Touya reach out for him. He struck out instinctively.

The next moment seemed to freeze, for the second time Sachi felt as if time had fractured (the first time had been when Miki had rescued him).

Touya’s eyes bore confusion and pain as if he could figure out how the sword had struck him. The blade was almost invisible, dark between the pair of them, only the fog seemed to show it until red began to flow outlining the blade.

Sachi watched in stunned horror as Touya stumbled back, the bloody sword came out and Sachi did nothing to stop the blade point falling downwards. Touya’s hands pressed against his side, trying to keep the wound shut.

Neither of them spoke, as Sachi rose unsteadily to his feet. He knew that he should get help; he knew he had to do something. The wound looked deep and dangerous…but he had to help Miki too.

He turned around, the tiger had done nothing when it came to their fight (perhaps Touya had commanded it somehow?) and saw that the tiger was disappearing into the distance.

“Miki!” He cried and he started to follow only for him to pause. He turned back to look at Touya. He looked pale, but nowhere near defeated; the red stain had spread across his shirt.

With a sigh, he made his blade vanish to wherever it went to, knowing that he would summon it back in due time. He concentrated his desire to jump into his legs and sprang upwards.

This time, his powers came to his aid and he managed to catch the rungs of the ladder that dangled from the helicopter. It was dangerous and for a moment his grip had been very precarious but once he was stable he climbed up the rungs until he was in the interior.

The helicopter’s insides were dark, it was difficult to see what was around him, but he went towards the pilot seat. The pilot nearly jumped out of skin when he saw Sachi, his headphones that blocked the noise of the blades and allowed him to communicate with passengers had made him deaf to his approach.

Sachi found a discarded headset with a microphone and picked it up. “Touya is injured. Please call someone to assist him.” He said into the microphone and then placed it down again.

He managed to see a white shape moving across the park from the helicopter’s window and he clearly climbed down again and jumped for the gap. The shock ran through his legs when he hit the ground (if he didn’t have his powers right now, his legs would probably be damaged).

“I’ve told the pilot you’re hurt.” He said not looking at Touya. “Now I’m going to try and save my friend!” He took off in the direction he was saw that Miki had gone.

*** 

His legs ached and his lungs burned as he tried to keep running, but the tiger shimmered and shone like a mirage. The mist that flowed with it obscured its paws making it look as if it was flying. He knew that the tiger wasn’t running away, he couldn’t feel any fear from it. What he could feel was rage!

As he moved, he tried to figure out what Miki’s motivation was, it seemed hurting Touya had broken some kind of hold on him, but at the same time it now meant he was loose and he showed no signs of recognising him.

Fear joined fatigue as they reached the city, the tiger seemed to literally jump over cars with ease, and the cars he landed on were crushed like tin. He was silent, ghostly, the mist lingered briefly allowing Sachi to keep track of him, only the crunches of car, the symphony of noise from the Byakko member’s passing destroy the illusion that a spiritual tiger was stalking the streets.

At first Sachi was confident that Miki/tiger would head for the Core building, Seiya’s death had driven them both for so long. But he soon realised that they were heading elsewhere, in fact he had no idea where they were going.

The revelation when it came…was a bloody one.

They had been running for most of the night, Sachi knew he had little time left to use his sword, so when Miki/tiger stopped in front of a building, he thought he finally had a chance to confront him. 

Until Miki tore into it, it didn’t seem possible whilst huge Sachi couldn’t imagine him being able to tear into it. Wind swirled around the beast, increasing the strength of the claws that ripped into brick and shattered glass. 

Metal seemed to obey him as if he was the legendary Byakko himself, it corroded and crumbled as if ashamed to stand before the creature’s anger. In mere moments he had tore a hole large enough to go into the building.

Sachi was still running, when he heard screams.

When he reached the hole, it took everything he had not to throw up. Miki was tearing into the people inside, people already laid on the floor injured and he prayed not dead. Blood was everywhere, and he could bear to look too close as he could see Miki had literally torn people open as easily as he had torn the wall down.

Others were fighting back, mostly with knives, but Sachi saw some readying guns. It was then he saw the colours and he realised he was in a Suzaku hideout.

“STOP IT!” He yelled at Miki, but his words were in vain and the tiger continued its assault. It shrugged of knife wounds, its tail knocked over those trying to sneak up from behind and the mist began to spread, no longer white it was tinged red with blood.

He tried to get close, trying not to step on the wounded until he was close. Miki was distracted by attacking Suzaku. He called his sword back, the blade was still coated in blood and he swung it.

Instead of hearing the emotions that was driving Miki, instead of going to mental landscape, he heard a roar and his sword had left a deep cut. His sword had…failed.   
He looked at his sword in horror and nearly had his head cuffed by a huge paw that went for him.

For a moment he found himself staring into Miki’s tiger eyes, seeing him reflecting in them, his reflection was exhausted, dress splattered in blood and holding a sword…but he couldn’t see Miki in those eyes, all he saw was the hatred that was driving the tiger forward.

Then the guns started shooting, blood bloomed among the white fur. Miki roared in pain, the mist rose further blinding everyone and when it faded, Miki was gone…leaving the wounded and the dying.

 

*Epilogue – Sachi *

I haven’t been able to find Miki since then.

After the battle, I went back to Mitsuko and the Church. I explained everything that happened, how I lost my ability to communicate to “monsters” through my sword, how I had wounded Touya and lost the chance to find the other members of Byakko.

Mitsuko was angry with me, I could feel it, and I could feel how much loss she felt. We were both lost. That was when Daniel-san helped us, it turns out the Church knew about Core, although they hadn’t been investigating the same thing as us. 

For now I am working with the Church, not only to fight Core, but to find the other Byakko members and to track down Miki. Mitsuko and I work as a team, we need each right now, she watches out for me and I keep patrolling for anything I can think of.

I thought that attacking Touya would stop the spread of monsters at least for a while, but it hasn’t. Numbers are growing, its more than I can handle now, people in school are literally disappearing before our eyes. People I know.

I won’t give up! I keep tracking monsters down, but I can’t reach them as I use to. Maybe it’s because I really wanted to hurt Touya for what he had done, instead of trying to “save” him like I did with others.

Mitsuko keeps telling me not to worry about it, that we will find a way to reverse people back to normal. For now, I just restraint the monsters and leave as soon as the authorities have them under control. I don’t stay…I can’t face the questions people have.

But it has changed one thing; people can’t pretend they aren’t real any more. The monsters don’t disappear when they are caught. People are debating about them, where they came from, what to do with them - kill them or study them, the issue is difficult as people had literally seem the change from person to monster and many of them argue that many of the solutions are against human rights. 

I don’t know if Touya is still out there, since the night in the park, there was no news of a body being found so I can only assume that he got treated, still it makes sense if the new monsters are out there that he would be too.

Everyone is panicking, it’s everywhere beating at people, and some try to act as if everything is normal as a way to cope. The weird thing is that while new monsters appear, they don’t remain in the spotlight, they vanish shortly afterwards.

Where do they go? For some reason I don’t think it is a good thing, whilst Miki sightings still come in, will it only be a matter of time before he “disappears” too?

I am going to find him, I am going to bring him back and I am going to stop Core!

 

END

 

 

 

 

Doubled-sided Jewel “Wanderer” Ending Song

From the day we are born, ‘til the day that we die.  
We carry a box that is precious inside.  
Small, large, ornate or plain, the shape and the size is never the same.

When we are young, we open the box unknowingly and we find out what’s inside.  
Gems of every kind lie before your eyes.  
Your hand reaches in, what gem will it bring?  
Will it be a sparkling jewel, like your laughter or a smile?  
Will it be dull or rough for when you cry or when you scowl?

As we walk through life, we handle these stones.  
Some remain untouched, waiting unseen, hidden away.  
Others we show people every day.

But there’s one thing we don’t often know, even as we grow.  
For every gem we hold, we see one side, there is often another our own hands often hide.

For joy, there’s sorrow.  
For anger, there’s calm.  
For those that protect, there are those that harm.  
For every charm, there can be a curse.  
We don’t always see what is worst.

Sometimes we say, “I want to cast you away!”  
When tears fill the eyes and the heart seem to die.  
When all you can do is wonder why?  
Why must you feel this way? Will it go away?

When the gems cut your heart, and you feel torn apart.  
Don’t throw them away, hold them closer I say.  
What hurts you today won’t always be that way.  
The side that you hate may be attached to something great.

You must hold on and believe that the pain you hold will soon be freed.  
And will change into a treasure that will be part of you forever.  
Because Hope is a doubled-sided jewel.

I hold the jewels of my heart and toss them to the skies.  
The scattering shards sparkle and shine.  
Like stars falling from up high.

With my sword I will wander.  
Looking for the path to take, as my emotions scatter in my wake.  
I cannot turn and face them, because I have betrayed their true worth.  
Yet I will continue on, because Hope is a double-sided Jewel.


	5. Optional Ending - Ties that Bind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Optional Ending depending on what option you choose at the end of chapter 3.

He turned his back on Touya, his friend was far more important and he had to rescue him even if it left him vulnerable to attack. He went for Miki; the tiger saw the charge as an immediate challenge and lunged for him.

Sachi reached deep inside and the world seemed to slow down a fraction, he went to his left, knowing that to the rest of the world, he would appear to have increased his reflexes. The swipe that had been aimed for his midsection just missed him, seeing the huge claws that had been unsheathed; he couldn’t say he was ungrateful.

He jumped so that he gave himself enough space to turn and aim his sword for Miki’s flank. He was about to strike when the mist rose becoming fog in seconds, blocking the tiger from sight, when he managed to get through it the tiger was gone.

He could see Touya watching, he probably expected them both to kill each other and wouldn’t act until he saw something that proved otherwise.

He saw a shadow form on his right side, but he didn’t react in time. Claws sank into his side, his body screamed in pain, it was like being stabbed with multiple knives, the weight knocked him down and he could feel hot breath on his neck. The teeth were coming for his throat.

He could feel the animal’s wet breath on his skin, the sound of the helicopter blades were getting louder. Had Touya seen the pounce, the claws sinking in and assumed that Sachi was fated to die?

Despite the pain, he managed to move his sword that it had contact with Miki and that is when they both froze.

*** 

Sachi opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by silence. Normally when he struck, he heard the whispers, the emotions that motivated them and he followed them to the source.

In Miki’s mind there was nothing, the ground was white, smooth like marble and featureless, like a page waiting to be written on. He started to walk; something had to be here, either “Miki” or something that symbolised what was making him a beast.

As he walked, he worried about him, Miki’s claws had done damage he knew that, it wasn’t the first time that he had wished his uniform was armour (or anything else apart from the dress). How bad were the wounds? 

He tried to banish the worry from his mind. He didn’t know how long time passed inside these “realms”; technically they weren’t real, seconds, minutes or hours. It seemed to differ with each person.

He noticed a black spot on the horizon and headed towards it. As he got closer, he was shocked to see that it was a castle, a huge black castle. The closer he got, the more impressive it seemed. Huge turrets rose towards the sky, like black arrows aiming for heavens.

The walls were tall, windows dotted the walls, small windows that soldiers probably used to spy on people or shoot arrows through against enemies. There were spikes sticking out in the walls in all directions, black ones with red tips. A moat surrounded the castle as well, preventing him from getting close, the water acted like a sea at storm, violent waves lashed at the sides and Sachi had a strange feeling that “things” lived in the water to further prevent swimmers from getting out, let along the other side.

It towered over him, a dark giant. The windows seemed to stare at him like eyes. It was very intimidating, kind of like Miki. He needed to get inside the fortress. He walked around the castle, the walls were completely vertical, a drawbridge covered up the door and the only way he could use the drawbridge was if there was someone else on the other side to lower it across the moat.

“MIKI!” He yelled. “MIKI! ARE YOU IN THERE!?” He took a deep shout afterwards and waited, apart from his own breathing, there was no indication from the castle that anyone had heard him. 

He waited probably about half an hour, or what felt like half an hour to him, before he had to think of another way in. He couldn’t fly, despite the abilities he possessed; he had gotten that one (he kind of wished he had). He had increased strength and speed, occasionally he had increased endurance when a blow that should have seriously hurt him like bruises instead of broken bones.

The only thing he could think of was the spikes, if they were strong enough, maybe he could climb up them, taking little jumps until he got to the top of the wall and then he could search the castle

For that to work he had to reach them from the other side of the moat. He moved around to the back of the castle, where there were more spikes (trying the front was fool-hardy as the door and moat were there leaving a blank spot for spikes). 

He walked away in a straight line, before turning back after creating a respectable gap between himself and the castle. He then began to run as fast as he could and when he reached the edge he leapt.

The spikes’ size worked to his advantage, his hands managed to grab one and using the force of his jump, he managed to swing himself around to land on the top. The spikes were terribly smooth, the moment his boots touched the surface they started to slip, so he jumped again to get to one higher up.

He was shocked to hear a huge “crack” as he got to the next one and turned his head to see the spike he had been on falling into the moat. Even as he watched, he could literally the cracks developing on the one he was sitting on spreading like spider webs.

He sprang to the next one, just as it began to crumble under his feet. This pattern continued until he made it over the wall, his legs trembles as if expecting the walls to fall apart too.

The castle interior was more stone, a wide courtyard with no decoration, the doors were as huge and impressive as the rest of the place, a portcullis of heavy black metal with more heavy spikes on the bottom to crush those that tried to invade.

There wasn’t a soul around as Sachi walked down the stairs that lead to the main courtyard; he saw several normal sized wooden doors. He moved and opened the first one, to encounter a solid black wall, this happened for every door he opened.

“I’m trying to help you Miki. Quit locking me out, do you actually want to help Core? Especially after what they did?” He said under his breath, he didn’t know what good it would do. This was Miki’s “place”; he hoped it would respond to those words.

He didn’t know if it did the trick, but when he opened the next door, he saw a huge passageway leading into the castle. 

He stepped inside and was surprised when the path opened up, into a huge hall. Long tables stood, decorated with fancy plates and candles lit the room, the tiny points of light seemed to add to the darkness rather than taking it away.

He looked around and at first thought the room was empty as well, until he saw the “throne”. It was one of the only things that showed any true colour, it was composed of gold or gold-coloured metal and the cushions seemed a deep red. 

There was some sitting on the throne. He ran up to the throne and was surprised to see Miki there. He was slumped in the chair, eyes closed as if he was either asleep or unconscious. A black crown adorned his head and he was dressed in furs, white and black stripped (he noticed the resemblance to a tiger right away).

“Miki?” He said, annoyed with himself when he realised he had said the name quietly. Why had he had this impulse to talk softly when the whole reason he was talking was to wake him up?

He reached out to touch Miki’s shoulder and shake him slightly when a wind rose within the room, flung him across the hall and knocked him into a wall. The blow made colours flash beneath his eyelids, before he managed to recollect himself.

He wasn’t surprised to see the tiger again. This time it was a ghost of mist and lightning, forked lighting danced between its fangs when it snarled at him. He got up, wincing as pain radiated through his skull like a bell. 

The tiger approached, it looked like someone had taken a piece of a cloud and storm and woven it into the same of a tiger. It literally walked through the furniture and its paws sometimes even sank into the floor. It looked ethereal, but it certainly seemed to pack a punch.

It went for him, he ducked to avoid the lighting infused bite, and its body brushed against him cold and icy, unlike flesh and blood fur. He called the sword up and slashed at it. The cut made it scream and back away.

“Damn it Miki! Wake up! I’m worried about you, Mitsuko is worried about you! We need your help!” He yelled as he went after the storm jungle feline. “I am not leaving this place without you!”

It turned and blue light flashed and he was flung back again, the cat growling as it advanced the chase and cut had only angered it further. He had never been shocked before and if the experience of anything close to what it was in real life, he never wanted to.

The cat movements were slow as it watched him, to see if he would struggle up again, so it could zap Sachi again with another blast. It was about to strike again, when a hand wrapped around the scruff of its neck and pulled it back.

“Shut up Sachi. I heard you.” It was Miki; he looked regal as he stood besides the tiger.

“Miki?! You’re alright!” The relief was overwhelming, he was so glad that Touya’s words were false.

“I’m certainly better off than you. What the hell are you doing on the floor?”

“I came here to rescue you!” Sachi couldn’t help retorting.

“Looks like I am the one doing the rescuing.” Miki countered, but Sachi could of sworn he saw a smile for a second, he had a feeling Miki would deny it if he raised the subject in conversation.

Sachi started to get up. “Well, whoever is doing the rescuing, do you think we can go back to the real world now?”

*** 

When Sachi came back to himself, the sun was just starting to rise. Miki was on the ground next to him, human again. His clothes were torn at the sides and it hurt to breathe, when he touched them gingerly, his fingers came away wet with blood.

Miki didn’t look that much better, his clothes stank of soot and even unconscious he was coughing occasionally and his breathing sounded bad.

The only sign of the confrontation was the empty crate.

*** 

It was Mitsuko that came to the rescue, he had been right to suspect she wouldn’t stay still and she knew the details of the note. Once daylight started to show and Sachi hadn’t returned she went to the location.

She had called the Church (emergency services or a hospital would ask too many questions) and they had come and collected the pair. A little while later, Sachi was bandaged and Miki had had to go to hospital to check for damage to his lungs.

The important thing was that they were both alive.

Touya had escaped, the rest of Byakko was still hostage, but Sachi wasn’t downhearted, they would find them and stop Core.

It was the next day that Sachi managed to visit Miki in the hospital and he heard his part of the story.

***

[Hours before the facedown with Touya]

“Very well Miki, just remember, this was your decision.”

Miki had been surprised when one of his gang members had been dragged into the room. The guy had also looked surprised and frightened; he didn’t even struggle against those holding him.

There were no instruments of torture, unless you counted fists and feet and any Byakko worth their salt knew how to take blows as well as give them. Miki tried to keep any sign of confusion from his face.

Touya went over to the member and placed his hand on their shoulder in an almost friendly gesture. “The truth Miki is that I possess a unique ability. An ability which draws out the emotions hidden within people and change them into monsters.”

He paused for a moment, before revealing the next part.

“The ability works via skin contact.”

The gang member realised that Touya was touching him and began to struggle, only for additional guard to come and restrain him as Touya removed his hand.

“All it needs is a brush or even a tap for it to be effective.”

Miki paled as he watched the change begin in the guy, whose face was full of naked terror. The guy was turning into something that looked spider-based and he was freaking out.

Touya ignored the changing teen and the guards began to drag him out even as he started to scream.

“The only way I can contain it, is to wear gloves and not just any gloves. Gloves made of human skin.

The reason I’m telling you this Miki, is because even knowing this, I am not the only way these “monsters” are being produced.

I am telling you this, because I am going to use you to kill the magical girl.”

He touched Miki’s cheek before he could even react; Miki instinctively swung his fist only for Touya to catch it within his own palm.

From that point on, things seemed to happen in fast-forward. He was “escorted” to the crate and locked into it. The last thing he remembered was the fur appearing on his arms and his nails turning into claws.

The next thing he remembered was waking up in hospital, Mitsuko in the visitor’s chair.

***

It wasn’t close to over, not yet. It took a few days before Miki was released from hospital. They met in the Church, since the club was no longer an option and decided what they would do next. Sachi’s dress was wrecked; if it was truly “magical” then they had no way to replace it. Miki was injured and needed to recover.

They were lucky, when they learned that the Church was chasing Core for a completely different reason. It seemed Core had more pet projects than just operation “monster”, not that surprising considering Core seemed to have a lot of power and influence in their own way.

But for now they had some new allies to help them.

 

*Epilogue – Miki*

Byakko has been stolen from me.

That bastard taunted me, he tried to control me and I got away. He tried to kill Sachi and he threatened Mitsuko. No way am I letting the fucker get away!

He won’t be able to hide, I will hunt him down and I will rip him apart! Nobody hurts my people and gets away with it!

When we meet again, he is going to be sorry. He doesn’t know that his plan backfired and he doesn’t know that I now have a new trick or two of my own!

END

 

 

 

 

Scattered Starlight “Ties that Bind” Ending Song

I thought I walked alone down the dark midnight road.  
Sakura blossoms, all around me carried on the wind.  
Like ribbons they flow, they catch in my hair, I catch them, hold them until I let them go again.

How did I not see you walking in my wake?   
You guided me on this road with words you push me forward.  
With a smile you give me strength.  
Your light is with me on the dark road.

Why did I think I was on my own?  
Could I truly think a star can shine alone?  
A tiny light can vanish in the night.  
But together you and I can shine so bright.

When eyes of death robbed me of my will,  
When monsters strike and my fear keeps me still,  
When I draw my blade and fear that I will kill.  
With your actions I can stay myself.

Why did I think I was on my own?  
Could I truly think a star can shine alone?  
A tiny light can vanish in the night.  
But together you and I can shine so bright.

When I was lost and felt I could no longer walk.  
The road had become too hard and long.  
You picked me up and carried me along.  
You had your own losses too, but you didn’t break.  
You laughed; you smiled, even as you held the tears inside.

How could I think that I was on my own, when I had you both at my side?  
We walk on the midnight road, carrying our own small lights; alone we would never be that bright.  
The strengths we share together makes us stronger than if we were apart.  
Whatever we meet on the road, we will face head on, because we are strong.  
A tiny light can vanish in the night.  
But together we shine so bright.


End file.
